JVLN
by Moonwolf121
Summary: Jack just wanted to get away from those stupid aliens. Valkyrie thought she was over with the shunting business. Leo never did want to go near that bear. And Kellyn…well, he sometimes wishes that he never took on a mission as crazy as this. Well, Fate always did have a weird way of operating, and whoever said life was easy? Cover by Shadowmistx92. On hiatus due to construction.
1. Jade

**Name: Jack Blank**

** Age: 15**

** Birthday: Unknown**

** Team: JVLN (Javelin)**

** Weapon(s): Sea Serpent; A trident that also acts as an ion cannon. The end of the hilt is also a shotgun.**

** Occupation: Student at Beacon Academy | leader of team JVLN**

** Semblance: Speaks to and controls machines**

** Home world: Earth/Imagine Nation (Jack Blank Adventures)**

** Favorite Quote(s):**_**"The power of imagination makes us infinite."**_** –John Muir | "****_Believe you can and you're halfway there._****" –Theodore Roosevelt**

** Symbol: A jade colored shooting-star**

** Nickname: Gear Head**

** Bio:**

**_[Testing, testing. One two three. Is this thing on? Oh, there we go. Ahem.]_**

Being captured by inter galactic space villains was bad enough.

Getting stuck on an unknown world only made my week worse.

Maybe I should back up a little. My name is Jack Blank. I'm a super hero. Yes, I mean like one of those heroes that you read about in comic books. I even saved the world. But I'm not such a big deal. There are people who have saved the world multiple times. Take my friend Valkyrie for an example. While I've saved the world only once, she saved the world, what, 7 or 8 times? Now that's what I call a hero [Oh don't get cocky, Val. I still beat you in combat training].

Anyways, after many years of living in the St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost in Earth as the outsider with mysterious powers, I finally met a man named Jazen Knight. He took me to this amazing place called the Imagine Nation where anything is possible, even aliens. There, I found out about my power over machines. To make a long story short, after this huge war with the Rüstov, a bunch of evil aliens that take on other people's bodies for hosts, we finally defeated them. Not only that, I even found my real father! My mother died when I was just a baby, but at least I found my dad.

I guess you're wondering why I'm so sad after I found my father, and the answer is simple: things, of course, went horribly wrong. My dad and I decided to have a little Father/son bonding time. Since my dad's a space pirate [adventurer or entrepreneur, as he prefers to be called], he has this spaceship that will allow us to travel anywhere. However, on the same day we set off, we were attacked by some other aliens. After a long struggle, they were able to capture me and leave my father behind. I became their prisoner. Seriously, can't you give a guy a break once in a while?

Anyways, as it turns out, they heard about our little victory against the Rüstov. They know that I was the one that was the key to the Imagine Nation's victory, and they didn't like that idea very much.

They threw me in a cell with my hands chained to prevent me from using my powers. I was left there with little food and water. I don't know how I survived. I was pretty much starving.

So there I was, sitting around in a freezing cold prison, utterly bored. I looked around. I saw a gigantic rock and a piece of wood. Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind. It was pathetic and old fashioned, but as always, it was the only thing I had. I went over to the rock and picked it up. It was heavy. I lifted it up over my head and banged it on the chain. It didn't even get scratched. I tried again and again and again until my arms burned. I didn't even notice when a group of my captors walked by until they began to laugh at me. Then they walked away, still laughing.

I think I went on for hours until I finally gave up. I threw the rock away in disgust. I leaned against the wall and slowly slid down and closed my eyes in defeat. It was hopeless. I was never going to get out of there. It took my friends an entire year to find me the first time, and I wasn't even aware about the amount of time that had passed. How was I going to survive here for an entire year without any food?

I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard something pipe up. "Pachi!" was the sound. I opened my eyes. Staring at me were the pair of big black eyes of a weird squirrel. It was small and its fur was white. A blue stripe ran down the back of its head to the end of its large tail. Its light blue cheeks sent of a series of sparks. It had tiny hands and feet. It had two front teeth poking out of its mouth. It seemed to be smiling at me.

"Pachi!" it squeaked again.

"Oh, hey little guy," I said. "How and when did you get in here? More importantly, who or _what_ are you? Where exactly did you come from?"

"Pachi!" it said again, waving its paw like it was saying _Pshh, security here stinks. It was easy getting in. And what I am is not important_ [actually, that really _was_ what that thing was saying]. It ran over to the piece of wood and grabbed it in its mouth. It ran over to the wall and scraped it quickly against it. It sparked. The squirrel tried it again and this time it caught fire. The squirrel ran over to one of the cuffs and held the fire to one. The cuff started to glow red.

My eyes widened. "Great idea!" I exclaimed. I watched as the cuff glowed. The creature then put away the wood. "Wait, why are you stopping?" I asked. The creature ignored me and went up to the glowing red part. Its two front teeth suddenly glowed. "Pachi!"it exclaimed. It bit down on the cuff. I thought that this was the craziest squirrel ever until the cuff broke. It did the same thing to the other cuff.

Soon I was free. "Thanks," I said as I stood and looked down at the squirrel. "I owe ya one." The squirrel chattered as if saying _Oh, do you now?_. I looked at it for a moment. "Hey, do you mind if I call you Pachi?" I asked. It shrugged and went up to the bars.

"Pachi!" it squealed again. This time, its tail turned into pure iron. Pachi jumped up and hit the bars with its tail. The bars broke. Pachi turned to me and waved a goodbye before running off into a different direction than where I was going.

I looked at the direction it took, watching its blue and white tail disappear behind a corner. "Good luck on whatever mission you're on," I said quietly. "Hope we meet again." I turned down to the opposite direction to where the escape pods were stored and ran. Time for the Great Escape.

However, my escape didn't go unnoticed. The enemies chased me through the entire ship until I was finally able to slow them down by securing the door of the room with the escape pods. I scanned the room. The escape pods look reliable, so I just entered a random one. I made sure the door was securely shut, and then I went to the control panel. That's when I heard the loud banging on the door. _They're gonna be in here in any minute now_, I thought. I chose the closest planet that was near here and pressed the **_GO_** button. I zipped of to that planet.

When I entered the atmosphere, the pod began to catch fire. Metal strips began to peel off from the ship. It was getting extremely hot. When I thought that it was all over for me, the pod slowed down and activated its parachute. It broke the fall a bit, but the parachute instantly caught on fire and burned.

So here I am, on an unknown planet. I landed safely on the ground, but I still hit my head pretty hard. I groaned and checked the computer screen. It flashed and a picture of a building on the edge of a cliff appeared. The screen flashed again and these exact words scroll on the screen: **_WELCOME TO REMNANT_**.


	2. Violet

**A/N Forgot to do disclaimer. Ahem. I do not own any of the Skulduggery Pleasant, Jack Blank, Heroes of Olympus, Pokémon, or RWBY characters. I only own some OCs that may pop up once in a while. Anyways, here's a shout out to my bro for helping me in this story. I owe ya one~ (Not really.)**

** Name: Valkyrie Cain [Stephanie Edgley; Darquesse]**

** Age: 17**

** Birthday: August 23**

** Team: JVLN (Javelin)**

** Weapon(s): Memories of Bone; a stun baton that is also a holster for a sword. Sword can retract and form a dagger. It can morph into a revolver that uses regular/dust bullets in an 8-round burst. | Soul Seeker; a black Necromancer ring that controls shadows and gets stronger near death.**

** Occupation: Student at Beacon Academy | former detective of the Sanctuary | former member of the Dead Men**

** Semblance: Controls water, fire, earth, and air.**

** Home world: Earth/magic (Skulduggery Pleasant Series)**

** Quote(s): ****_"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light" _****-Aristotle Onassis | ****_"Doors are for people with no imagination"_**** –Skulduggery Pleasant**

** Symbol:** **a violet circle with a stem reaching from the top left and curving below the circle a few inches down and a second stem starting at the top right of the circle and moving its way to the point where it meets the first stem.**

**Nickname: Val**

** Bio:**

**_[Give me the bloody mike.]_** Hullo. Valkyrie Cain here. Sorry about that little scuffling sound. You'll be hearing a lot of that. Anyways, my story next. Like my little friend Jack here—whom I will note is 2 years younger than me [Oh quit complaining. You know it's true.]—I am from another world. I wound up at Remnant for some unknown reason and now I am fighting for survival and looking for answers. Anyways, this is how I wound up in this mess.

I was on the run. You see, I was also from Earth like Jack was, but I was from a parallel universe. I also lived in Ireland, not America. I was just a regular girl up until the point when I found out about magic. I began to use magic to catch bad guys with the help of my skeleton detective partner, Skulduggery Pleasant. And I literally mean _skeleton_. He was a walking, talking complete set of bones. Together with his magic and my Elemental and Necromancy magic, we solved mysteries and stopped bad guys from destroying the world.

I was on the run because the people I work for—the Sanctuary—found out about my true name. Everyone has a total of 3 names: your given name, the name you take, and your true name. The name you were given is the name your parents gave you. For example, my given name is Stephanie Edgely. However, sorcerers can control you if they know your given name. In order to be protected, you must take on another name: your taken name. My taken name is Valkyrie Cain. However, if a sorcerer knows your true name—the name that lies deep within your subconscious and that should never be shared to anyone—then they have complete control over you. You must seal your true name so that you can stay free.

Anyways, back to the point. They found out about my true name and tried to kill me. There are these psychics called Sensitives that have had visions of a woman named Darquesse destroying the world. And, considering my luck, Darquesse of course had to be my true name. Hooray me! My name was sealed, so they couldn't control me. So instead, they went for plan B: Kill me. I was able to escape, but I became a wanted rogue on the run. Another reason on why they were after me was because Darquesse had already taken over me. I barely had a voice in my own mind. I was completely taken over.

One day we were flying over a city. I was wondering about what it was like for Darquesse the first few years when she was trapped in my body.

_I guess this was what it felt like for her for those many years_, I thought.

"Now, Valkyrie," I heard Darquesse say. "I think that I've been holding back quite enough for now. I think it's time I showed the world what I'm capable of."

_No! Please, don't! Don't hurt anyone!_

"I won't hurt anyone innocent," she assured me. "But I can't say the same for the people that oppose me…"

_Please, just leave them alone. They don't deserve this. None of them do._

"Oh, but I'm sure that there are people who really deserve what I do to them. Remember Erskine Ravel? We thought that he was our friend. But what did he do? He killed Ghastly and Anton. And now he will experience 23 hours of pain, seven days a week. And we both know that he deserved it."

_No. He should have rotted in prison. He should have been killed by Skulduggery. But what you did was too awful._

"Now, honey, you know I don't like it when people tell me I'm wrong. I will do as I please. And I will show the world my power, starting today. I think I'll tune you out now."

And that was that. The conversation ended. _Damn it_. Darquesse began flying around, looking for the perfect spot to wreak havoc. Suddenly, I weird sensation filled her arm. Or my arm. Whatever. "Hmm…it seems like it wasn't quite over yet," Darquesse murmured. "Oh well. Time to shunt." _Shunt? As in shunt to another dimension? I thought that was over with!_

Suddenly, we were in a large forest. "Hmm," Darquesse pondered. "Could this possibly be Mevolent's dimension?"

Then we heard a male voice behind us. "Hello." Darquesse turned around to see a man holding a coffee mug and a cane. He wore a gray suit with a green undershirt and scarf. He had messy gray hair and his brown eyes shined behind his glasses.

"Hello," Darquesse answered back. "I seem to be a bit lost. Could you tell me which planet I am on?"

"Yes, of course," the man said, as if he got that question every day. "You are on the planet Remnant. I could show you it if you want." He pulled out a strange tablet and tapped some commands on it. He showed it to Darquesse. A series of lights flashed up, blinking in a random order.

Darquesse frowned. "How is this helping?"

"It isn't," the man said.

Suddenly, Darquesse started to sway. I had no idea what was going on. It took me a while to process it, but I realized that Darquesse was getting _dizzy_. Darquesse _never_ gets dizzy.

She fell to her knees. "What—are—you—doing?" she gasped.

"Making sure that Valkyrie comes back," he replied. "Just because I'm from a different planet and dimension doesn't mean I don't know things."

He leaned down to speak to Darquesse. "As soon as you wake up, Valkyrie will be in control again. And Valkyrie?" he said to me. "I'm apologizing in advance. You will wake up with a nasty headache, but I hope you'll understand that it was for the best, for you, all the universes out there, and for your family. And when you wake up, I have an offer for you. Please accept it. Goodnight for now."

And everything went dark.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in a small room with a major headache. The room was lit up by sunlight streaming through a window with bright yellow curtains. A bedside table stood on my left. A vase blooming with red roses sat on it. I tried moving, but my muscles felt sore. I tried to remember what happened, but my mind hurt and everything was just a fuzzy blur. What the hell had happened?<p>

Suddenly, it all came crashing down. Darquesse, shunting, the man, and passing out. I then realized that I was in control of my body. I was me again. The man walked in with the cane and coffee mug. He also set down a plate of cookies on the bedside table. A woman with blond hair and green eyes tailed behind him, holding a device similar to the one the man held when we first saw him. "Hello, Valkyrie Cain," the man said. "I see you're finally awake."

"Who the hell are you two?" I demanded, grimacing at the pain of the headache. "If I'm really in another dimension on a different planet, then how do you know about me?"

The man chuckled. "I am Professor Ozpin and this is my associate, Glynda Goodwitch. I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy. As for how we know you, well, let's just say that we have our resources, as you have yours."

"Beacon Academy?" I asked.

"A school designed to train warriors, such as yourself," Glynda replied.

"Anyways," Professor Ozpin said. "I'm sorry about earlier. We had to put you back in control, or else innocent civilians would get hurt."

"I guess I understand," I said, though I was still a bit miffed about the headache. "Well, I'd better get going. Thanks for helping me."

I was about to get up, but the professor interrupted. "You could leave with no idea on what to do here, or you could stay, and we can teach you everything you need to know about survival in Remnant. You seem like you need it."

I paused. "What's the catch?"

"You will have to work hard," he replied. "You must use everything you've learned and learn even more. Once you've done that, you will be enrolled into my school. You will become even stronger than you are now."

"What about magic?"

"Here, people don't know about magic," Glynda said. "But they will just pass it on as your semblance, a skill that everyone here has. You won't need to worry about them finding out the truth. As you develop your skills here, you may be able to learn some new tricks. Here the possibilities are endless."

I thought about it for a moment. "Okay," I decided. "But I'll need a weapon."

"You will have to forge your own," Professor Ozpin said. "But we do have this for you. Think of it as a welcoming gift." He handed me a black necromancer ring identical to my old one. "People will also think of its power as one of a regular weapon.

"These people here sure have an imagination."

"You'd be surprised. Mortals believe in almost anything but the truth."

I nodded. "True. Well, looks like I'm ready."

"Good. Once you've fully healed, put these on." He handed me my old black clothes that was made for me by Ghastly Bespoke. The thought of my old friend filled me with deep sadness. He died by the hands of Erskine Ravel, a man we thought of as a friend.

"We were able to get them for you," Professor Ozpin continued. "We also added a crest on the back of your jacket. It'll help you fit in a bit more."

I looked at the jacket. There, on the back, was a violet crest. It was a circle with a stem reaching from the top left and curving below the circle a few inches down. A second stem started at the top right of the circle and moved its way to the point where it meets the first stem.

"One more thing," he added. "The magic that Darquesse used seemed to be so powerful that it moved you back one year. You are now seventeen again."

"Cool," I said. Then I winced at the pain from the headache. "Bloody hell, that hurts!"

Professor Ozpin nodded. "I warned you about it."

"Damn, you weren't kidding when you said it was gonna be a nasty one…"

"Eat a cookie. It'll make you feel better."

I remembered the cookies and grabbed one. I began to munch on it. "Yum," I mumbled.

The man smiled. "Welcome to Beacon."


	3. Lava

** Name: Leo Valdez**

** Age: 16**

** Birthday: August 17**

** Team: JVLN (Javelin)**

** Weapon: Fire Forge; a war hammer that can turn into a jack hammer or rocket launcher. End of the hammer can reveal a sharp blade extending along the edges. | Tool Belt; a magic tool belt that will take out or store almost anything.**

** Occupation: Student at Beacon Academy | Creator and Mechanic of the ****_Argo II_**

** Semblance: summons fire**

** Home world: Earth/ gods of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus)**

** Quote(s):**_**"If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it."**_** –Lucy Larcom | ****_"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door" _****–Milton Berle**

** Symbol: a black hammer inside a red flame.**

** Nickname: Flame Boy**

** Bio:**

**_[My turn. Hey! Let me go Val!]_** Wazup?! Leo Valdez in the house! Sorry about the commotion. Val was holding me upside down with her shadows. Any who, it's time for Uncle Leo to take you down memory lane! **Insert happy music right here **[Yes Jack. I do have to do that. Now be silent, nonbelievers! :P]

It was just a normal day for me. Well, as normal as a life can be if you're a demigod. Here's the plain and honest truth: the Roman and Greek gods are all alive. Sometimes, they have children with mortals and these children are called half-bloods, or demigods. Anyways, demigods attract a lot of attention, especially monstrous kinds. Monsters are constantly attacking them. There are only two places that are safe for these demigods: Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Roman demigods go to Camp Jupiter. Greek demigods head to Camp Half-Blood. My father is Hephaestus, Greek god of blacksmiths and fire.

So anyways, we had just finished the war with Gaea, the goddess of the Earth [Yes, Mother Earth—or Queen Dirt Face, as I like to call her—is _EVIL_], and was returning home to Camp Half-Blood. Reyna, the praetor of Camp Jupiter, had Iris-messaged to us saying our plan worked and that the Romans and Greeks have chosen peace over war. I was relieved. After all, I had started it (long story; don't ask).

So, we were all heading home on the _Argo II_, our big warship that I made by my very own hands. I made a few modifications to the ship so that it will fly on auto-pilot without my help- just in case I'm blown of the ship again (another long story) - and I turned it on. I was below deck having a little snack. I was thinking about how it was all finally over, how I finally avenged my mother's death. I remembered the times on my ship, with my friends Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank. I thought about my _bisabuelo_, Sammy, who loved Hazel back in the 1940s, right before Hazel died and came back 70 years later. I remember Hazel saying that I looked and acted exactly like him. But most of all, I thought about Calypso.

I finished my burger with a heavy heart and headed to my room. That's when I heard a loud _THUMP_ above deck. I stopped in my tracks. I heard my friends above yelling. A loud roar pierced the air. I jumped, all thoughts of earlier disappearing into the back of my mind, and sprinted to the stairs. "What's going on?!" I asked franticly. As I reached the stairs, I saw a giant bear. But it wasn't like any bear I have ever seen. This thing was three times the size of a normal one. It had spikes sprouting from its back. Stone like armor covered its arms, neck, back, and legs. Muscles rippled under its sleek black fur. And if its teeth and claws weren't scary enough, the white mask marked with red lines that it wore just made it look even more intimidating. Its glowing red eyes glared at me from under the mask. Whoa, I thought. Teddy Bear on steroids.

It let out a brutal _ROOOOOAR _and charged at me. It would have hit me if it wasn't for Frank who shape-shifted into a black bear—maybe to try to communicate to the thing, maybe to show that this is his territory. Who knows? The bear seemed unfazed, but it was definitely annoyed. It slashed at Frank, knocking him a few feet away where he turned back to his human form. I heard him cursing in Roman. I ran over to Percy and Jason, where they were gripping their swords, ready to battle. "Where'd this….bear thing come from?" I asked.

"Dunno." Jason replied. "It just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah, and we don't even know what the heck that thing is," Percy said through gritted teeth.

"Nothing? No information whatsoever?" I asked. I swiveled my head to Annabeth, who was gripping her newly acquired drakon sword. "Annabeth?"

She simply shook her head and charged at the bear. She swung her sword at its head, but it blocked the blade with its stony armor. It roared and smacked Annabeth with the back of its paw. She landed on the deck with a _THUD_.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. He ran to her side. She groaned and waved him off.

I then heard running. I looked at the stairs and saw Coach Hedge charging at the bear yelling "DIE!" at the top of his lungs. The bear simply brushed the satyr to the side like he was nothing. Well, what do you expect? That's a bear, he's a goat.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but," Jason muttered. "I wish Octavian was here. He could have used this thing for a giant offering to the gods…"

"Or at least gotten himself killed in the process," I suggested.

"Yeah, there's that."

I studied the beast. Its armor was strong. It covered most of its body. It would be hard trying to penetrate it. Its stomach was open, but it would be almost impossible trying to get under there without getting squished. But then again, impossible was my thing.

"Distract it for me, will ya?" I told Jason.

He stared at me. "You can't-" he started to say.

"Don't worry," I assured him. "I've got a plan." I flashed him a grin.

"Your plans are terrible…." He muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I summoned a flame in my hand. "Just cover me." I ran to the side of the bear.

"Hey, Teddy Bear!" I heard Jason yell. "Shouldn't you be cuddling with someone or something?!" The bear turned to Jason and roared. I heard Jason curse under his breath. "Any time now!" He called out. I took a deep breath. Now or never. I charged at the beast and rolled under it. Then I reached a hand out and grabbed on to its fur. I pressed a fiery hand against its stomach. It roared in pain and shook itself. It took some effort to stay on, but somehow I managed it.

For a second, I thought that the beast was glowing, but before I could make sure, it let out one last shriek and went limp. Unfortunately, that also meant that I was trapped underneath. I squirmed under the weight of the bear and cursed in Ancient Greek. "Get me out!" I yelled. "Gah! It smells even worse than Coach Hedge's laundry under here!" [And I am _NOT_ gonna go into detail what _THAT_ was like…] I felt the weight of the bear lifted off of me. I looked up to see Frank standing there. He offered me a hand. "Thanks," I said. I grabbed his hand and he hauled me up.

"No problem," he said. "That was pretty brave," he commented.

I shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to mind at the time," I admitted.

Jason and the others ran up to me. It seemed like Piper and Hazel and came up while I was fighting the bear. "Leo, that was awesome!" Percy exclaimed. "You've got skills!"

"Of course!" I puffed up my chest, although my height didn't make much of a difference. "I'm Leo Valdez, Bad boy supreme! You are all on Team Leo!"

Hazel rolled her eyes. "You're so modest," she said sarcastically.

I smiled. "Yes I am. I'm so glad you noticed! But seriously, I just used my …simple…fire…abilities…" My voice started to trail off. I felt lightheaded.

The smile on everyone's faces disappeared. "Leo?" Piper asked, worried. But I didn't hear her. Her voice sounded distant. The dizziness was overwhelming. I began to fall. "Leo!" Piper yelled. She reached for me, but I was gone before she could make contact.

I don't know how it happened, but I was suddenly transported to the front of a shop. It was called _From Dust Till Dawn_. What that meant, I had no idea. Then I saw someone walking down the street.

I called out to the person. The person turned around and I saw a girl that looked _TOO _much like Little Red Riding Hood. She was looking at me with her startling silver eyes. "Hey, do you know where the heck I am?" I asked. "Like…What place or planet?"

Little Red tilted her head in confusion. "U-um…odd question…well, you are in the region of Vytal on the planet Remnant, 'Alien Man.'"

* * *

><p><strong>AN okay, there's Leo's chapter. One more Prologue to go! So, there you have it! Leo's at Remnant, and he meets Ruby right off the bat! BTW, if you want to know how the friends that Leo, Valkyrie, and Jack are, I might post a story about what they decide to do when they leave. But I'll only do it if I have enough likes and follows. Anyways, please review!**

**I'm now howling you a good time! -Moonwolf121**


	4. Navy

** Name: Kellyn Nyrel**

** Age: 17**

** Birthday: January 20**

** Team: JVLN (Javelin)**

** Weapon: Vatonage Shift; two gauntlets (Vatonage stylers) that have a small orb at the end that can turn into any weapon the user wants made of aura. Also shoots out aura bullets.**

** Occupation: Student at Beacon Academy | Elite Ranger at Ranger Union**

** Semblance: Electricity**

** Home world: World of Pokémon (Pokémon Ranger Shadows of Almia)**

** Quote(s): ****_"We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody to." _****–Helen Hayes**

** Symbol: A black lightning bolt in a navy cloud.**

** Nickname: Sparky**

** Bio:**

**_[Hey! Would you stop that?! Ow! Hot hot hot hot!]_** Sorry about that. Leo and Valkyrie decided to set my pants on fire. Anyways, my name is Kellyn Nyrel. So, this is my tale of how I ended up in Remnant.

This took place a year after Jack escaped, just like Valkyrie and Leo's stories did. I worked at a place called the Ranger Union. Unlike Jack, Valkyrie, and Leo, I came from a world different from Earth. You may know this world as the Pokémon World. Yes, this world is real. It's definitely not just a game or TV show [And I don't want to hear any comments about how stupid Pokémon is. I mean it_._ Up yours Leo.].

I'm a Pokémon Ranger. I help people and Pokémon who are in need. My job is to protect nature and everyone in it. I guess you can say that we are like the police.

So anyways, I was going about my usual business when I was called by my boss, Chairperson Irma. I waited at the HQ while my Pokémon partner Pachirisu snoozed on my head. Pachirisu doesn't look like much- just an adorable blue and white squirrel like creature that looks like it wouldn't hurt a fly. But he is loyal to all and will send out 50 volts of electricity just to protect his friends. He actually went on a rescue mission all by himself to help break out a captured prisoner [Yes Jack. That squirrel-like creature that saved you was Pachirisu].

I looked at the map of the region I live in, Sinnoh. I thought about how small this region is compared to the lands in other worlds. Unlike other planets, we know all about the other worlds with other life forms. We send operatives from the Ranger Union to learn as much as they can about these worlds. Sometimes, it takes only a week to get the information we need because some of the planets are well aware of the other inhabitants in the universe and are welcoming. Most of the time, it takes months, maybe even a year or so, to gather the Intel because the planet either has no idea what's out there or are very hostile to others.

At that moment, Chairperson Irma strolled in with Prof. Hastings. Chairperson Irma was a small woman. Her hair was turning from brown to gray. Despite her age and height, she had a wistful face and study hands. She is kind and caring, yet strict and intelligent. She wears an orange dress with a brown coat on her shoulders. Her cane was a spiraling stick that looks like it was just found in the forest.

Prof. Hastings is Chairperson Irma's right hand man. He is a tall man looking like he may be about 60 years old. His chalk white hair stood up in many directions. He held a cane in his right hand and wore a white lab coat over his light blue shirt. His eyes glittered behind is glasses perched on his nose. His left hand ran through his white beard that lay below his white mustache.

I stood up straight and tapped on Pachirisu. He stirred and jumped to my shoulder. He waved a small greeting to the two elders. "You called me?" I asked.

Chairperson Irma nodded. "We have an important mission for you," she said in her kind voice. "We have gotten reports saying that three outsiders have all fallen into the planet of Remnant." "Outsiders" is what we call people who are from a different planet.

"Okay," I said. "I'm guessing that they're from planets that don't know about the other inhabitants."

"All except for one. This one knows about the universe around him. And the correct term is 'planet'. These three come from Earth. They've all somehow ended up on that one particular planet." She motioned to an Operator named Rythmi. She brought up a picture of Beacon Academy, the place where students go to learn how to fight monsters and protect the people of Remnant.

"We believe that these three coming there was no accident. It may be Fate playing her card of destiny again. If she is, then we must put our trust in her and aid her in any way possible." Fate is a kind of super being. She tends to play the card of destiny, arranging meetings that will change lives or throwing an adventure or problem along the paths of heroes. She is very wise, and whatever she does helps her target in many ways, even if they don't realize it. She tends to make a big scene out of it, but she's the reason why we have such great heroes. Because of Fate's deeds, we tend to help her accomplish her goal in any way possible.

"Two of these outsiders have fallen near Beacon Academy," Chairperson Irma continued. "Our associates believe that Fate wants us to let them attend the classes. They will let these two and the third outsider in the Academy."

I looked at her. "Really? They'd have to be pretty good fighters to enter."

"They are." She signaled once again and three profiles appeared. I recognized them instantly.

"That's Valkyrie Cain, detective of the world of magic, Leo Valdez, creator of the _Argo II_ and one of the seven half-blood saviors of Olympus, and Jack Blank, the one who found and is the cure to the Rüstov infection and saved the Imagine Nation," I said, remembering every detail of these three.

She nodded, an eyebrow raised.

"I noticed that someone has been studying," Prof. Hastings observed.

I scratched my head. "Well, I have been interested in the other worlds for a long time, especially the heroes of these worlds," I admitted honestly. What I didn't tell them is who I studied most out of the three.

"Good," Prof. Hastings said. "Then you'll know exactly how to act when you meet them."

I stared at him. "Wait, I'm going there?!"

This time, Chairperson Irma answered me. "Yes. These three are the reason that we have come to believe that Fate is staging another big prophecy worthy destiny. It can't be just a coincidence that three great heroes have ended up at the same planet at the same time, can it? We need you to make sure that these heroes are on the right track and won't cause too much trouble."

I nodded. It made a lot of sense. "Rodger that." Then I thought for a moment. "I will need a weapon though."

"Already taken care of," she said.

Isaac came up holding a styler. He handed it to me. "This styler will act as a weapon. It unlocks your aura, turns it into a physical object, and uses it to create any weapon of choice. Try it."

I slipped the styler on to my left arm. I thought of a sword, and immediately a blade made of blue aura popped out of the orb at the end. "Whoa. Sweet." I moved my hand across the flat of the blade

Isaac nodded. "You can also use different kinds of weapons. By the way, I will need to upgrade your other styler for the same features." He held his hand out for the styler on my right arm. I took it off and handed it to him. He disappeared down the escalator and came back minutes later. "There," he said. "You are ready to go."

"But what about Pachirisu?" I asked.

"Don't worry," Chairperson Irma assured. "Just point your styler to him and say 'Energize'"

I did as she asked. "Energize," I said. Pachirisu suddenly turned into specks of light and was absorbed into my styler. "What the—"

"Pachirisu has been transferred to your styler," Prof. Hastings explained. "In the world of Remnant you will need a power called Semblance. Pachirisu will help you in that by giving you its power: electricity."

I looked at my hands. I thought of creating a spark. Suddenly, small sparks of electricity sizzled around my hands. "Cool," I said. "I guess I'd better be going." I began to leave when Chairperson Irma called out to me.

"One more thing," she said. "Getting to Remnant will be easy, but coming out is the tricky part. Once all three of the outsiders are considered to not be a threat and they know about where each one of them, including you, comes from, you must try to convince Valdez and Blank to create a machine that will send you back home. Whether they want to go home or not is their choice. That is all."

I nodded. "I'll do my best." I waved bye to them and headed to the research lab downstairs on the second floor. I reached the door and just as I was about to enter, I heard a voice behind me.

"Yo, Nyrel!" I turned around and saw the rest of my friends behind me. Keith, Kate, Ben, Summer, Lunick, and Solana were all standing there.

"Oh, hey guys," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"We heard about your mission," Summer explained. "And we're here to wish you luck!"

"Yeah," Keith said. "Though I wish that _I_ was the one on this mission…" he grumbled under his breath.

"Be careful!" Solana said, ignoring Keith's comment.

"And don't do anything stupid!" Kate teased.

"Yeah, especially without us!" Ben added cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I told them.

Lunick patted me on the shoulder. "Good luck, kid," he said.

"Thanks," I replied. I turned and headed into the research room. "See ya!" I said over my shoulder. I looked ahead of me. There, on the far end of the room, was the Dimensional Crosser. That machine teleports the passenger inside to the desired world of dimension. I took a deep breath and let it out. With my head held high, I walked to it and stepped inside. "World of Remnant, please," I said to Nage, another scientist. He nodded and typed coordinates into the keyboard. Then he turned to me.

"Ready?" he asked.

I looked around and took one last breath of the air in the Pokémon world. "Ready."

I closed my eyes as the world around me faded. Soon I stood in a small office. "Hello," said a voice. I turned around and saw our two associates from Remnant. "I presume you are the Elite Ranger that Irma sent?" asked the man.

I nodded and bowed. "It is good to meet you both. I'm Kellyn Nyrel." I straightened. "It is an honor to meet you, Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch."

* * *

><p><strong>Note from Team JVLN, RWBY, and JNPR<strong>

**Jack: **Okay, now that you know how we ended up at Remnant, it's time you learned how we all met.

**Kellyn:** You will find out how we became a team.

**Valkyrie: **Not only did we learn what it meant to be a team, but we also learned along with Team RWBY and JNPR how to be friends—no. A _family_… And I don't care how lame, pathetic, sappy and cliché that sounded, but it's true. So...(**shrugs)** Hater's gonna hate.

**Leo:** Yeah! We all became one big, weird, dysfunctional yet happy family! And everyone's officially on Team Leo! (**Grins like a mad man**)

**Weiss: **(**rolls eyes**) Whatever, you dolt.

**Jaune: **(**grins**) Yeah. Team Leo.

**Ruby: (smiles cheerfully)** Team Leo!

**Ren:** (**rolls eyes but grins too**) Team Leo.

**Yang: **(**smile spreads across her face**) Everyone wants some of the Super-sized McShizzle.

**Pyrrha**: (**smirks**) They all "love" Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme.

**Blake:** The boy who invented scrawny, "the new sizzling hot" (**uses air quotes**).

**Nora: **(**Jumps up and** **pumps fist into the air, smiling like crazy**) Team Leo for the win!

**Everyone:** (**bursts out laughing**)

**Leo: **(**rubs head, embarrassed**) Sometimes, I regret telling you guys that. (**Shrugs**) Oh well. Guess there's nothing I can do about it now. (**smiles**) Except prank you all.

**Valkyrie:** (**stops laughing and growls**) Valdez, I swear, if you prank me I'm gonna make sure you die a painful death.

**Everyone nods their heads in agreement.**

**Leo:** (**mumbling**) Fine...

**Jack:** Anyways, let's get this show on the road!

* * *

><p><strong>AN I forgot to tell you. This story takes place after House of Hades, Last Stand of Dead Men, and End of Infinity. If you are reading this after the 5****th**** book of Heroes of Olympus and the 9****th**** book of Skulduggery Pleasant, I apologize. The 9****th**** and 5****th**** book haven't come out yet as I am typing this, so please don't hate me when they do. Anyways, I decided to use Pokemon because, well, I couldn't think of anything else. Please don't hate me. This is Moonwolf121 here, howlin' you a good time!**


	5. Introduction

_Legends. _Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "dust".

Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone… darkness will return.

So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world"… but take heed. There will be no victory in strength.

But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul…

* * *

><p><em>Red like roses fills my dreams and<em>

_Brings me to the place you rest._

_White is cold and always yearning,_

_Burdened by a royal test._

_Black the beast descends from shadows._

_Yellow beauty burns gold_

* * *

><p><em>Jade star flies across the sky so<em>

_Make a wish with hope so great._

_Violet war concealed below thee,_

_Fighting for thy loved ones' fate._

_Scorching Lava, from flames you've risen._

_Navy Storm, a watcher hidden._

* * *

><p><strong>AN So! There you have it. An intro. Yes, I used the RWBY intro and put in the RWBY poem. And, yes, I also made a poem for Jack, Valkyrie, Leo, and Kellyn. If you don't like the poem, then sorry. I'm terrible at these kinds of stuff. But my brother also helped me, so put some blame on him to. Speaking of my brother, he helped me on most of the weapon designs and names. He's a weapon geek, just like Ruby. Anyways, Since this was an intro, I'm gonna post the next chapter today to! This is Moonwolf121, howlin' you a good day!**


	6. Ruby Rose and Jack Blank

**Ruby Rose and Jack Blank**

**_Jack_**

_I waited on the rooftop of the building._ It had been an entire year since I had arrived here on Remnant, and I still couldn't believe it. After I had landed on the planet, I just started wandering around, completely lost. I made my own little camp and stayed there for a while. It was a hard time because I had no money for supplies (Stupid aliens took all my money…). However, this kind man took me in. At first, I wasn't so sure. But, as it turns out, I actually got along with him really well. Especially with his two daughters, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Their mother, Summer Rose, died a while ago, so it's just been the three of them until I joined the family. I never really understood why they had different last names, but I decided to let it drop.

After I became a part of the family, my new dad enrolled me to the same school Ruby and Yang are in: Signal Academy, a school designed to train Huntsmen and Huntresses. In the world of Remnant, Hunters are people who slay monsters to protect the people who couldn't protect themselves. Anyways, I had to forge my own weapon. I gave myself a trident that was almost as tall as me. It also acts as an ion cannon and a shotgun at the end of a hilt. The handle can retract so that it can be easier for me to carry on my back.

In the first week of school, I was considered a prodigy, which made me uncomfortable [Unlike you, Leo, I actually don't like getting special attention. I've had quite enough of it…]. I was able to take out all of my opponents during combat training. Everyone thought that I was a natural at it.

_If only they knew_, I thought. Back in the Imagine Nation, I trained at the best school for heroes there was: The School of Thought. I learned from the best of the best there. But even though I was good, I still had a lot to learn. There was one teacher who took special interest in me. He was a teacher named Qrow. As it turns out, he was actually Ruby and Yang's uncle, which I guess makes him my uncle too.

Anyways, I soon got the hang of the new routine. I was good with both my weapon and hand-to-hand combat. But I still couldn't help but think about the Imagine Nation. Every time I hear the words "dream" or "imagination", I'm reminded of my home and all the friends I left behind. I miss every one of them. Blue, Jazen, Stendeval and the rest of the Inner Circle, Dad, Trea, Zhi, Lorem, Skerren, Allegra…

_Allegra_. I felt something squeeze at my heart at the thought of her. I missed her most of all. No one can ever replace Allegra. She's one of a kind. She was always by my side when I needed her.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. The cool evening wind blew over me. I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard a _THUD_ below in the dust shop. I listened for a moment. Suddenly, there was a crash and the shop window shattered. I turned around and saw a 15-year old girl that looked a lot like Little Red Riding Hood.

"Great," I muttered. "What has Ruby gotten herself into this time?"

Ruby Rose was holding Crescent Rose, her scythe that can turn into a customizable, high-impact sniper-rifle. In front of her was a guy on the ground and a bunch of other guys in a group that looked like they were ready to attack.

I sighed. "Looks like another fight for me," I grumbled. I got up and prepared to jump off the roof.

_**5 minutes earlier**_

A man with orange hair walked into the shop with some other people that looked like his body guards or something. He was wearing a white trench coat, gray scarf, black gloves, a black feathered hat, and black pants and boots. He had a cigar hanging from his mouth and was holding a cane. His body guards wore black suits, red ties, black hats, and red shades. Each one had a gun or sword.

The man shook off the cinders from the cigar. He looked up at the shopkeeper and crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?"

One of the men raised a gun up to the shopkeepers head. The old man raised his arms. "Please" he begged. "Just take my lien and leave."

"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. Calm down," he assured. "We're not here for your money." He looked to his left to one of the men. "Grab the dust," he ordered. The man took out a case. It had 10 cylinders inside. Each man grabbed one and went over to the powder dust to fill the case.

Another man opened a different case that was empty and shoved it on the counter. "Crystals," he ordered the shopkeeper. "Burn. Uncut." The old man reached for the fire dust crystal that the man wanted.

One of the men was about to fill another cylinder when he heard music. He looked to his left and saw a girl wearing a red hooded cape with her back to him. The hood was up. She was wearing all black except for the cape and red linings on her dress and boots.

The man unsheathed his blade. "Alright kid," he ordered, his voice deep and menacing. "Put your hands where I can see 'em." The girl ignored him. The man scowled. "Hey, I said hands in the air!" He walked toward her. "You got a death wish or something?" He put his hand on her shoulder and spun her around.

"Huh?" the girl exclaimed. The hood fell off her head to reveal a pale 15-year old girl with startling silver eyes. Her jet-black hair had dark red highlights in them. Red headphones engraved with black roses lay on her head. Her music was playing loudly.

The man pointed to his ears to tell her to remove the headphones and listen to him. The girl obeyed and slipped them to her shoulders. "Yes?" she asked, completely oblivious of the robbery that was taking place.

"I said put your hands in the air… NOW," the man said with force.

"Are you…robbing me?" she asked, her eyes growing wide with surprise.

"Yes!" the man said, exasperated.

"Ohhhhh…" the girl said, her eyes narrowing. The girl turned on him.

"Hey—" the man began.

"Hyah!" the girl exclaimed, knocking him to the far end of the room where the orange haired man stood hunched over the counter, looking at the crystal in his hand. The man fell in to an awkward heap, surprised by the little girl's strength. The orange haired man looked at the man on the ground. He looked to the other goon next to him and motioned for him to get the girl.

The goon ran up and pointed the gun at Little-Red, who was in a fighting position. "Freeze," he commanded. Next thing he knew, he was tumbling out the window with Little-Red, her having the upper hand. He hit the ground and lay there unconscious.

The rest of the goons gathered around the broken window to see what the commotion was. There, they saw Ruby Rose standing up with her weapon that appeared to be a black and red sniper-rifle changing into a scythe on her shoulder, her red cape billowed in the wind behind her. Her head was down.

The orange haired man narrowed his eyes as her music still played. The girl looked up and smiled smugly at them. She started spinning her scythe to show off her unbelievable strength (the scythe was bigger than her and _had_ to be more than twice her weight) then smashed the point of the blade to the ground.

"_Welcome to a world of new solutions!_" went the music in her headphones. "_Welcome to a world of bloody evolution. In ti—_" Ruby cut off the music. Suddenly, a dark shape jumped down from the top of the building…

**_Present time_**

I jumped down from the roof of the shop and landed next to Ruby in a crouch. I stood up

"Okay, what have you gotten us into this time Ruby?" I asked.

"That jerk over there tried to rob me," she said, nodding to a guy on the ground in the shop.

I took one look at the goon and scoffed. "He got a death wish or something?" I asked.

She smiled. "I guess so. Those guys are with him," she added.

"Well okay then," I said. I reached behind me and grabbed the hilt of my trident. I twirled it around in the air as the hilt began to grow longer. I called this weapon the Sea Serpent. As soon as the weapon was done arranging itself, I slammed the hilt on the ground.

The orange-haired man tilted his head. "Okaaay," he said. He looked at the goons around him. "Get them," he said in a tone that made it sound like it was the most obvious thing to do.

The goons charged outside to me and Ruby. Big mistake. The first goon swung at Ruby, who dodged by jumping up, still holding Crescent Rose, and twisted her body to kick him right in the face. The other goon went after me and swung his sword. I dodged and dug the long hilt into his stomach, hard. I then switched the trident to my left hand and punched the guy in the jaw then kicked him away. Both goons flew away in an unconscious heap. Ruby picked up her scythe from the ground as she flew into the air using the momentum of the kick and positioned herself.

Another set surrounded us. Using the recoil of the bullets from the shot gun on the end of the hilt of my trident, I flew at half of the goons and knocked them out with a series of upper-cuts, jabs, and kicks. Ruby spun around and hit the first two goons. She used the recoil of her bullets to dodge the shots of another goon and swung her scythe at of him. They all landed in a heap in front of the orange haired man.

The man looked down at them. "Well you were worth every cent," he muttered. "Truly, you were." He looked at us. "Well, Red and Blondie, I think we can both agree this has been an eventful evening." He dropped his cigar and crushed it with his cane. "And as much as I'd love to stick around," He raised his cane and pointed the tip at us. I realized that there was a scope on the tip. That's when I understood that it wasn't just any cane, it was a _weapon_. "I'm afraid this," he said as the scope popped up to reveal a little hole big enough for a dust bullet, "is where we part ways."

He pulled the trigger and a bright dust bullet hurtled towards me and Ruby. Damn sneaky little—. Ruby and I used the recoil of our weapon's bullets to jump up high as the bullet hit the ground and exploded, spraying gravel everywhere. Ruby and I landed back on the ground. When we looked up, the orange-haired man was gone. We ran to the spot where the man stood and looked around. We turned and saw him climbing a ladder to the top of another building. How'd he get there so fast?

The shopkeeper ran outside. Ruby looked at me. "Is it okay if we go after him?" she asked.

"What do you think?" I replied.

Ruby looked back at the old man. "You?"

He nodded. "Mm-hmm." Ruby and I ran after the orange haired man. Just as the man reached the stairs and ran to the edge of the roof, Ruby and I used the recoil of our weapons to reach the top faster.

"Hey!" I called.

The man stopped. "Persistent," he muttered. Ruby and I took our positions. Suddenly, a helicopter flew in front of us. A light beamed at me and Ruby, blinding us. Damn, he's good.

The man climbed into the hangar of the ship. "End of the line you two!" he yelled. He showed off a red dust crystal and threw it at us. It landed at our feet. He pointed his cane and shot at the fire crystal. The bullet hurtled at it, but just before it exploded, two figures jumped in front of us.

"Whoo hoo hoo hoo!" the man hollered as a red cloud floated through the air. Then his eyes narrowed. "Hmm?" Instead of seeing two injured children, he saw a blond haired woman with glasses and a seventeen year-old girl with jet black hair. The girl held a black stun baton with symbols etched into it while the woman held a wand.

Or is it a whip? And where the hack did they come from? Oh, who cares? They saved our lives! The girl was pointing her baton at the man just like the woman was pointing her weapon at him. The woman had a large circular symbol emitting from her weapon. A black ring on her right hand seemed to be the source of the wall of shadows. Shadows curled around her baton and fist. Both the shadow wall and symbol protected us from the blast.

"Amateurs," the girl muttered under her breath, probably thinking we didn't hear her. I heard an accent in her voice. It sounded…was that Irish? But that's impossible. Ireland is on Earth and no one else here is from Earth. Right?

"Hmmp," the woman grunted as she adjusted her glasses. The girl swung her baton. A series of shadow daggers flew at the ship, each hitting its target.

The man stumbled, dropping his cane. He growled and ran to the driver's part of the ship. He grabbed the chair to steady himself. "We got two Huntresses!" He yelled over the hum of the ship and the blasts of the daggers. The woman at the steering wheel got up and went to the hangar while the man took her spot.

Meanwhile, the blond woman glowed and outstretched the hand with her weapon. A light shot out and stopped above the ship. The purple symbol she used from earlier appeared once again. Suddenly, dark clouds formed in the area where the symbol flashed. Thunder boomed within the clouds.

"The weather man didn't say anything about rain and thunder today," I observed. The woman dropped both her right foot and hand. Raindrops poured down on the ship. Wait…those weren't just any raindrops. I looked closer. That was _hail_ coming down. They were like stalactites and were the size of my forearm to my elbow. "Especially nothing about hail the size of my arm!" I marveled.

One of the crystals crashed through the window and almost decapitated the man. Then, a woman in a red dress walked into the hangar. The pair in front of us narrowed their eyes. I couldn't see their face, but I could make out golden eyes that shined brightly.

A fire flared in the woman's hand and she shot it at us. The pair blocked it with the woman's symbol and the girl's wall of shadows. Magma splattered at their feet. The fire woman raised her hand. The ground around the pair glowed with a red light. The pair flipped out of the way just in time as the ground where they stood exploded. The gravel was thrown at us. The blond woman stopped the gravel with her weapon and made them freeze, midair. She then spun her arm in a circle. The gravel imitated her movements and came together to form a giant dagger-like shape.

I guess that they really like pointy weapons. Note to self: Never sneak up on them unless I want to get stabbed. The woman extended her weapon hand. The purple dagger flew at the ship. The fire woman hit it with her flames three times. The gravel scattered but reformed and flew at the fire woman once more. The man turned the ship. The gravel bounced off the ship and scattered. The blond woman twisted her arm and brought it in front of her. The scattered gravel reformed into _three_ daggers. The woman in the hangar regained her balance and looked around as the violet daggers moved around the air like a snake. She stood and crossed her arms in front of her. Red symbols flashed around her body and her arms began to glow. She spread her arms out and the symbols around her dispersed. The purple daggers glowed red and exploded. Ashes began to fall from the sky.

Ruby and I looked at each other and knew I we were thinking the same thing. We couldn't let these crooks get away. Ruby changed Crescent Rose into its sniper-rifle form and shot at the woman in the hangar. I pointed the end of the hilt of the sword where my shotgun bullets would shoot out from at the woman and did the same. The pair looked at us then back at the fire woman. The woman blocked all our shots with her aura.

The fire woman twisted and swung her right hand across her body. Five circles of red light flared at our feet. The pair looked at them and swung their weapons. Suddenly, Ruby was pulled forward while shadows grabbed me and did the same. We landed on the ground as the pair flipped away. The ground where we once stood exploded. Ruby and I stood up just in time to see the hangar door closing and the ship flying away.

I turned to the woman and girl. Now that the fighting was finished, I was able to take a good look at them. The woman was wearing a black and white dress. Her cape was black and purple and curved at the bottom to create a nice design. She wore black leggings and boots. A clump of her blond hair was curled while the rest was up in a bun. Her turquoise tear drop earrings jingled as she turned her pale to look at us. Her emerald green eyes bore into us.

The girl was tall and athletic looking. I could see her muscles under her jacket. She wore all black: black jacket, boots, ring, and pants. The only clothing that wasn't black was her silver shirt and blood red jacket sleeves. Her dark hair flew in the wind as she turned to look at us with her intense brown eyes.

"You two are Huntresses?" I marveled.

Ruby pushed me out of the way. "Can I have your autographs?!" she squealed.

I mentally slapped myself in the face. Leave it to Ruby to make things awkward.

_30 minutes later_

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, you two," the woman scolded. After that incident half an hour ago, the woman, Glynda Goodwitch, had taken us here to the interrogation room, apparently to scold us. The girl went off somewhere and we haven't seen her since. I glanced at Ruby. She was staring down at the floor, crestfallen. Whether it was for the scolding, or for the autograph rejection, I have no clue. You never know with Ruby.

"You put yourselves and others in grave danger," the woman continued.

Ruby's head snapped up. "They started it!" she protested.

The woman ignored her. "If it were up to me," she continued. "You'd be sent home with a pat on the back…" Ruby and I brightened. Maybe things aren't as bad as we thought! The woman stopped and looked up from her device. She snapped her head to glare at us. "And a slap on the wrist," she finished coldly. Ruby and I quickly yanked our hands away as she slapped her weapon on the table to emphasize her words. We both yelped in surprise. Yep, I thought to myself. Definitely a whip.

"But…" she sighed, "there's someone here who would like to meet you two." Ruby and I looked at each other. The woman walked away to the side as a man walked in holding a coffee mug and a plate of cookies. He wore a gray suit with a green undershirt and scarf. He had messy gray hair and his brown eyes shined behind his glasses.

"Ruby Rose and Jack Blank…" he began. He leaned in close and observed Ruby. "You…"—Ruby looked at him in awe—"have silver eyes," he finished.

He then examined me. "And that's an intriguing mark on your right eye," he added.

I looked at Ruby, who seemed just as confused. "U-um…" I began, expecting something else.

"So!" he interrupted. "Where did you two learn to do this?" he asked, nodding to a surveillance video Glynda was playing of Ruby and I totally owning those stupid henchmen. Jeez, these guys had awesome cameras.

"S-signal Academy," Ruby replied in a voice that made it sound more like a question. She smiled innocently like she was seeing if that was the right answer.

"They taught you two to use some of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, one teacher in particular," I clarified.

"I see…" He put down the plate of cookies in front of us.

Ruby looked down at then looked back at the adults. Without taking her eyes off them, she stuffed a cookie in her mouth, finishing it in one gulp. She looked down at the cookies. It must have been good because she started stuffing them all in her mouth. When I tried to get one, she slapped my hand.

"Ow!" I rubbed my hand and glowered at Ruby.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe and trident-wielder of that skill before," the man ventured. He looked up as if remembering a distant memory. "A dusty, old crow."

"Mmmp! Thrsh rrh nkl crhh" Ruby exclaimed with her mouth full. She choked a bit as she tried to gulp down the cookies. The man looked at her strangely.

"Sorry about my rude sister," I apologized, getting a glare from Ruby. "What she's trying to say is 'that's our uncle, Qrow'. He's a teacher at Signal."

"Yeah!" Ruby piped in, finally finished eating the cookies. "We were complete garbage before he took us under his wing—well, Jack was still awesome even before then, but that's not really the point—and now we're all like Hoowaaahh!" Ruby said, doing karate movements. I mentally slapped my face again. "Witchaaa!" Ruby continued. Honestly, it was just plain embarrassing. "Hwoooaaa!"

"So I've noticed," The man replied. He set down his mug and leaned across the table. "And what is an adorable girl and handsome boy such as yourselves doing at a school designed to train warriors?" he asked.

"Well…" I began. "We want to be a Huntsman and Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?" he asked.

"Yeah. We only have two more years of training left in Signal, and then we're going to apply to Beacon," I said. "You see, our sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress and we're trying to become a Huntsman and Huntress 'cause we want to help people."

"Our parents always taught us to help others," Ruby said, jumping in, "so we thought, 'Hey, you know, might as well make a career out of it'!" she said, chuckling.

Then she leaned in. "I mean, the police are alright," she leaned back and put her hands up, clenched in a fist. "But Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and just…_gah_! You know?" she squealed.

An awkward silence filled the room. I tapped my foot nervously. Glynda stared at Ruby, unsure of what she just said. I couldn't blame her. Ruby isn't the…best…at explaining things.

The man laced his fingers together and looked at us for a moment. "Do you know who I am?" he finally asked.

I answered before Ruby could. "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

He smiled, indicating that I was right. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby and I both said.

Professor Ozpin set his hands on the table and leaned in. "You two want to come to my school?" he asked.

I looked at Ruby, then back to the Professor. "More than anything," I replied honestly, speaking for the both of us.

He looked at Glynda, who rolled her eyes and looked away. "Hmph."

He looked back at us. "Well, okay."

I looked at Ruby, my eyes wide. I couldn't help but grin widely. She had the same expression.

_**A few days Later**_

"Oh, I can't believe my baby brother and sister are going to Beacon with me!" our older sister Yang Xiao Long shrieked, throwing her arms around me and Ruby and squeezing the life out of us. "This is the best day ever!" she squealed, tightening her grip.

We were on our way to Beacon Academy in a giant flying ship. After being accepted to the Academy by Professor Ozpin himself, Yang wouldn't stop jumping in delight. And it seems like now that we were actually on our way, she just wouldn't quit hopping around.

"Please stop," Ruby complained through gritted teeth. I couldn't blame her. I couldn't breathe. I voiced my complaint as well. I was pretty sure that people were staring at us, and I wasn't too keen on the idea of getting that kind of unneeded attention just because of Yang.

"But I'm so proud of you two!" She cooed, letting go jumping up and down. Yang was like an energetic seventeen year-old version of Goldilocks, except her clothing had a biker's edge. And trust me, she actually _has_ a motorcycle. [And I am _never_ riding on that thing ever again]

"Really sis, it was nothing," I said, trying to calm her down. But I knew it wouldn't work. When Yang gets excited, there's almost no stopping her.

"What do you mean?!" she exclaimed, baffled. "It was incredible!" She pointed behind her to some of the other first year students. "Everyone at Beacon are gonna think you two are the bee's knees!"

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay?!" Ruby told her. "I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"What's with you two?" she asked, spreading her arms out. "Aren't you excited?"

"Of course we're excited it's just…" I sighed and looked to the ground. "We got moved ahead two years. We don't want anyone to think we're special or anything."

Yang went over and put her arms around us, squeezing our shoulders. "But you two _are_ special."

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick," said a news reporter. We turned our attention to a screen that showed a mug shot of the guy Ruby and I fought. "Who continues to evade authorities," he continued. "If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa," he said.

The screen changed to show a reporter with light-purple hair and golden eyes. On the bottom of the screen was the reporter's name: Lisa Lavender. "Thank you, Cyril," she said. "In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony." A picture of a group of striking people were shown. However, they weren't just any ordinary people. They were Faunus. Every one of them had an animal trait. A woman in the picture had bear ears a man had rabbit ears.

The boy next to us shook his head. "It's just sad," he murmured.

"What is?" I asked turning to him. He was wearing some sort of uniform. He wore black finger-less gloves. On each of his wrists were two red gauntlets with a blue orb at the tip. A clump of his brown hair stood up from the rest. He looked at me and I saw his icy yet friendly blue eyes.

"The White Fang," he replied.

"Why is it sad?" I questioned, not seeing how a group of violent Faunus who attack innocent people can be considered "sad".

"They weren't always a bad group," he explained. "In the destruction of war, the White Fang was supposed to be a symbol of peace between the humans and Faunus. However, despite being promised to equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate." A dark look spread across his face. "Humanity still thought of them as lesser beings. So, the White Fang rose up as the voice of their people. They began to organize peaceful rallies, boycotts, and strikes."

I thought about it for a moment. "Well, now that you say that, I'm starting to think of them as the victims," I admitted.

"But what changed?" Ruby asked. "If they were so peaceful, what happened to them?"

"Well," he began. "Five years ago, the leader of the White Fang stepped down, and a new one took his place. One with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, their peaceful protests turned into organized attacks. They started to set fire to shops that wouldn't serve them, and hijacked cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. They were being treated like equals. But no out of respect. Out of fear." He ended there.

We were silent for a moment. "Yeah," I finally said in a quiet tone. "It is sad."

"How do you know all this anyways?" Ruby asked.

He shrugged. "That's where too much studying gets you," he said.

I nodded. "Haven't quite caught your name," I pointed out.

"That's because I haven't told you," he joked. He held his hand out. "The name's Kellyn Nyrel. And you are?"

I took his hand and shook it. "Jack Blank. These are my adoptive sisters, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long."

"Hey, aren't you and Ruby the ones that tried to stop Torchwick?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "And we were so close at it too!"

"Well, anyways, it's nice to meet you all," he said politely.

"You too," Yang said. I looked at her and saw something in her eyes. _She's gonna flirt, isn't she_, I thought to myself. "So, handsome, you available on Saturday?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

_Yep_. I nudged my older sister. This was just plain embarrassing. "_Yang_," I hissed through gritted teeth. Leave it to her to flirt with a new friend.

Kellyn blushed and looked away. "Oh umm… uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm flattered and all, but…..you're not my type. Sorry." And with that, he walked away.

We stared at the direction of where he disappeared. Yang was stuttering.

"Di-did he just say Yang wasn't his type?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"That's a first for me," I replied. Then I got over my confusion and looked smugly at Yang. "So, how does it feel for your 'oh so lovely charms' to not be noticed, then to get rejected for the first time?" I asked slyly.

Yang stopped stuttering and gave me a death stare. "Wipe that smug look off your face before I do it for you," she warned, her lilac colored eyes turning bright red.

I immediately backed off and raised my hands in the air. "Kidding! Kidding!" You shouldn't mess with Yang when her eyes glow red unless you want her to go Super Saiyan on you. It's kind of her semblance.

We decided to turn our attention back to the news reports. "The once peaceful organization has now disrupted—" Suddenly the news went out. A hologram of Glynda Goodwitch appeared in its place.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she announced.

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." Well that was timed perfectly.

"Oh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy," she continued. "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it's our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Her hologram flickered out. That's when we saw the amazing view of the city Vale through the window of the ship.

"Wow!" Ruby and I both exclaimed. We ran to the window to get a better look. It was absolutely breath taking. I guess the other students thought the same thing because they began gathering at the windows.

"Look!" Ruby said. "You can see Signal from up here!"

I looked at it and suddenly felt homesick. "I guess home isn't too far after all," I said.

Yang put her arms around us. "Beacon's our home now," she corrected.

We heard a guy groaning. We looked to see a blond haired boy with armor covering his mouth. He was making a gaging noise. He ran past us, probably to go find a trash can or something.

"Well…I guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang said.

"It _was_ a nice moment while it lasted," I added.

"I wonder who we're going to meet," Ruby said cheerfully.

"I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy," Yang admitted.

I scowled at Yang. "That's rude." Then I noticed something on her boot. I quickly moved away. "Oh, Yang! Gross! You have puke on your shoe!"

Ruby looked at Yang's shoe and shrieked.

"Gross, gross, gross!" Yang squealed.

"Oh! Get away! Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby shrieked as she ran.

I quickly made my way to the edge of the airship. I kept my distance as I watched my sisters run around. I smiled as I watched my sisters run around. Sure, they're my adoptive sisters, but they treat me like I was always one of their own. And yeah, I still want to get back to my own life I had before this whole "other world" fiasco began, but who says that I can't enjoy the life I live now, here in Remnant? And judging by the family I was taken in to, my life was about to get a whole lot crazier. I just didn't realize exactly _how_ crazy Fate was planning on making it.


	7. The Shining Beacon

**_Leo_**

_I tapped my feet nervously as I waited_. I was accepted to Beacon Academy by none other than Professor Ozpin himself. When I first came here to Remnant, I went to the Academy looking for some answers. I guessed that the glowing bear was what brought me here, but I needed to make sure. Before I arrived at the Academy, however, I met a man named Qrow. He taught me how to fight after a forged my weapon. It was hard training, but I turned from a weakling to one of the top fighters in Vale. I was surprised because I wasn't much of a fighter, even back on Earth. But I still didn't have any of my questions answered yet.

"You've been avoiding all my questions," I accused Qrow one day. "You haven't given me a single answer about how I got here!"

"Patience, Leo," he replied. "The answers you seek will reveal themselves in time. You must trust fate and let destiny take its course in life." That was always his reply. I never got a straight forward answer. It infuriated me. If anyone knows me, then they know that I don't have a lot of patience. Trying to understand him was almost like trying to understand a prophecy. Then, when Professor Ozpin selected me to join the Academy, Qrow told me that the questions I had will soon be answered. "You just need to look hard. Sometimes, the solution we seek is hidden from us, and sometimes it's in plain sight."

So here I am. In a new world with new problems.

I shook my head in amazement. "To think that this is actually happening," I chuckled aloud.

"I know, right?" The kid next to me said. He looked about fifteen, with messy blond hair and jade-colored eyes. There was a faint mark on his tan face that went down to his cheek and around his right eye. Even though he looked like he was a year younger than me, he was taller [Curse my shortness…]. He wore a regular red jacket with a jade shooting star picture on the shoulder and a green shirt. His jeans were tattered and a handkerchief was hanging from his pocket. "It's hard to believe that this is all real," he said.

"Yeah. Especially since I was such a weakling," I said, surprised about how easily I was able to talk to this guy. I guess he reminded me a bit of Jason. "You would never have imagined that I would have been selected to attend this place."

A look of understanding showed in his eyes and he chuckled. "Been there, done that."

I noticed that he wasn't looking at me. I followed his eyes to see that he was looking at two girls running around. "You know them?" I asked.

He nodded. "They're my adoption sisters."

"You were an orphan?"

"Yep. For the first fourteen years of my life. My mum died soon after I was born…and my dad didn't know about the son he left behind," he added quietly.

"Oh." I suddenly felt sympathetic for this kid. "Sorry. Shouldn't have asked…"

"Nah, it's fine," he said. "I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you."

"Yeah…" I gauged about how much I should say. "I know that you probably don't believe people when they say that they know how you feel, but I really kinda do." I decided to be honest to him and tell him the truth…leaving out the godly business of course. "My mum died in a fire when I was a little kid. I can still remember the burning shop. Then my dad…he decided to not talk to me for most of my life as I bounced around from orphanage to orphanage."

A silence followed. Finally, the kid said softly, "Guess we both lost our family to a tragedy." He turned to me and held his hand out. "The name's Jack Blank. You are?"

I took his hand and shook it. "Leo Valdez." Then I flashed him a devilish grin that would always drive my teachers nuts 'cause they knew I was gonna do something bad. "Bad boy supreme. You are now officially on Team Leo!"

The kid laughed. "More like you're on Team Jack!"

I looked at Jack's sisters. "What are they doing, exactly?" I asked.

He looked at them. "Did you see that kid that looked like he was gonna puke?" he asked.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Yang over there got some puke on her shoe," he said pointing to the girl who looked a lot like Goldilocks. "And now Ruby's running away from her," he added, signaling to the girl I met who was running away from Yang.

"Well, you can't blame them," I said. "No one wants puke on their shoes."

"Yeah, which is exactly the reason why I'm over here. But still…" He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. "They can be big embarrassments. Plus, I really don't understand them sometimes."

I chuckled. "They're women. No one understands them."

He nodded. "True."

Finally, Yang got a tissue and wiped her boot. They stopped chasing each other. Ruby ran over to Jack. "It's safe to go near Yang!" she announced cheerily. She looked toward me. "Oh, hey it's you!" she exclaimed.

I chuckled nervously. "Yeah. It's me." Please don't say it. Please don't say it.

"So, how's it going, 'Alien Man'?" She smirked.

She said it_._ I let out a heavy sigh. "Just fine…'Little Red'."

Jack looked at me. "'Alien Man'?" he asked.

"Long story. Don't ask."

"But I just did."

"Never mind…"

"So, anyways…it's nice to meet you kid."

I frowned. "_Kid_? I'm sixteen! And I'm gonna guess that your fifteen, a year younger than me."

"Oh." The heat rose to Jack's face. "Umm…sorry. I thought you were—you know what? Never mind."

We stood in an awkward silence. I was fiddling with a few gears I had taken from my trusty tool belt. Jack was twiddling his thumbs. Ruby was looking down at the floor, playing with the laces on her dress.

Yang walked over. "Hey guys!"

Ruby looked at her sister in relief. "Hey sis."

Yang glanced at me. "Who's the new guy?"

"This is Leo," Jack answered. "He's our new friend."

Yang smiled cheerily. "See! You're making new friends already! And you two were so worried about what the people here at Beacon were gonna be like."

Suddenly, we felt the ship descending. I looked out the window and saw that we were landing on Beacon grounds. "I guess we're here."

We headed for the exit once we landed. The doors opened and the rest of the students stepped out. I saw Vomit Boy running past everyone to a nearby trash can. There he finally puked. I averted my eyes and kept walking. We stopped at the front of the school.

"Wowwww!" Ruby, Yang, and Jack gasped as they took in the view of the school. I couldn't blame them. I've seen all kinds of amazing things, like Rome, and even I was amazed. Annabeth would have loved the architecture here, I thought.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" Yang said, crossing her arms. Suddenly, Ruby squealed. She pointed to a person walking by. "Ooh! Ooh! Sis! Bro! That kid's got a Collapsible Staff!" She gasped again and headed near a girl. "And she's got a Fire Sword!"

Jack dragged her back by pulling on her hood. "Ow!" Ruby exclaimed "Ow!"

"Easy there, little sister," Jack said as he let go of her hood. "They're just weapons."

"'_Just weapons_'?!" she asked. She pointed to the weapons that other students were carrying. "They're an extension of our selves. They're a part of us!" She clenched her hands. "Oh, they're so cool!"

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon?" I asked. "Aren't you happy with it?"

Suddenly, Ruby pulled out her weapon. It turned into a black and red scythe. She hugged it against her shoulder. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose," she said. She brought her scythe down. "I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people." She looked down at her feet. "But better."

I realized that despite Ruby's cheerful attitude, she's really shy and lonely. Judging by the mechanism of Crescent Rose, I'd say that Ruby is more of a weapon nerd than a social girl. I also noted that she went a bit overboard in the designs.

"Ruby, come on!" Yang said, pulling down Ruby's hood over her face. "Why don't you go and try to make some friends of your own?"

"But," Ruby began as she pulled the hood off, "why would I need friends when I have you two?"

"Weell, actually," Yang said as a group came up from behind her. "My friends are here now." She ran off with the group trailing behind. They pushed past Ruby, spinning her. Yang continued to walk away, waving behind her. "Gotta go catch up. 'Kay! See you! Bye!" she called behind her.

"Wait!" Jack called. "Yang!" He ran off after her, leaving me with a dizzy Ruby.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby asked as she still spun. "Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms?" She sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing…" She fell backwards on top of someone's luggage. Bags flew in the air and one of them hit me.

"Ow!"

Suddenly a shrill voice cut through the air behind me. "What are you doing?!" I whirled around to see a pale girl with white hair tied up in a ponytail with a crown hairpin there glowering at Ruby with cold blue eyes. A faint scar trailed from across her left eye. She looked exactly like what you expect those drama queens to be. She wore a white jacket with a red inside. She wore boots that matched her outfit. Her earrings looked like they were supposed to be paired with her necklace. A rapier hung of her left waist.

I disliked her instantly.

"Uh…sorry," Ruby apologized.

"Sorry?!" the girl asked in an accusing tone. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!"

I picked up one of the girl's briefcases and handed it to her. "Not really," I said.

"Gimme that!" she snatched the case away from me. "This is Dust!" she said, opening her suitcase. "Mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry."

Schnee_…_I recognized that name, but couldn't quite remember what was so important about it.

"Uhh…" Ruby said.

"What are you?" the girl asked, taking out a vial of red powder then closing the case. "Brain dead? Dust! Fire! Water! Lightning! Energy!" She shook the vial at every name to emphasize her point. At every shake, some dust filtered out.

"Uhhh…" I realized Ruby was inhaling the powder. This isn't good, I thought to myself.

"Are you even listening to me?!" the girl asked, completely oblivious to what was happening. "Is any of this sinking in?!" She shook the glass one more time as she pointed an accusing finger at Ruby. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Uahhhh" Ruby was on the verge of sneezing. Uh-oh. "Ahh-CHOOO!" When she sneezed, a small explosion engulfed us. A series of fire, lightning, and ice sizzled in the air. The vial the girl was holding flew out of her hand.

"Unbelievable!" screeched the girl's annoyingly high pitched voice. She shook the ashes off her. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Ruby was looking down guiltily. She was pushing her fingers together. "I'm really, really sorry," she said, looking like she really meant it.

"Ugh! You complete dolt!" She just wouldn't stop yapping away. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little _young_ to be attending Beacon?!" She leaned in.

Ruby dropped her hands and wouldn't meet the girl's eyes. "Well…I—"

"This isn't your ordinary combat school," the girl interrupted. She crossed her arms. "It's not just sparring and practice you know. We're here to fight monsters! So, watch where you're going!" she looked away.

I've had just about enough of Little Miss Perfect here. "Hey! She said she was sorry, Princess!" I snapped as I took a step forward.

"It's heiress, actually," said a voice next to us. We turned to see a girl with dark hair and amber eyes walk up to us. She wore black and white. A black bow was propped on her head, but if you ask me, they looked a lot like cat ears. "Weiss Schnee," she said, looking at the snowflake logo on the jar of fire dust in her hand that Weiss had dropped. "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss smiled and held her head high at the familiar title. "Finally," she said. "Some recognition." She turned her head and glared at us.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners," the amber-eyed girl added.

The smile on Weiss' face faded. Suddenly, she was downright furious. "What—how dare—the nerve of—" she was so angry that she couldn't even find the right come-back.

I attempted to suppress my laughter—but hey. No one can stop the Super-sized McShizzle from laughing.

Weiss took a step closer to the girl, as if she was going to slap her. Instead, she snatched the dust bottle from her hand. She turned on her heel and stomped away.

"Jeez," I muttered. "So much drama over a jar of dirt…"

Weiss's butlers came, cleaned up the mess of luggage, and followed Princess. Ruby also took a step towards the direction Weiss went off to. "I promise to make it up to you!" she called. Honestly, Ruby can be a bit _too_ kind.

Ruby sighed. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough day…" She turned to look to the amber-eyed girl. "So! What's—" As we turned to look at her, we saw that the girl was already walking away. Guess she's not much of atalker. I looked at Ruby. There was a look of hurt in her eyes.

She dropped to the ground. It looked like she was about to give up. She flopped down on her back and shut her eyes. I felt kinda bad for her, but I really didn't know how to deal with these kinds of things. I'm good with machines, not people. "Welcome to Beacon," she said miserably.

I knelt down next to her. "Aw, c'mon Ruby. Things will get better…hopefully. Put a smile on that face!" But I could tell that she wasn't listening.

A shadow passed over Ruby and we both looked up. A boy with messy blond hair and blue eyes was standing there offering a hand to Ruby. He wore a black sweater, sneakers, and denim jeans. Strapped to the upper part of his body and shoulders was armor. He wore fingerless gloves. Strapped to his belt was a sword in its holster.

"Hey," he said. "I–I'm Jaune."

Ruby took his hand sheepishly and he pulled Ruby to her feet. "Ruby," she said.

I got up and offered Jaune a crooked smile. "Leo Valdez."

Ruby snickered. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

* * *

><p>"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune complained. We were walking around the school campus while Jaune was complaining. He was very miffed about the puke incident.<p>

"Look, I'm sorry," Ruby said for the millionth time. "Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, yeah?" Jaune said. "What if I called you Crater Face?"

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc," he said, pointing to himself and raising his head high. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue," he said, spreading his arms out. "Ladies love it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do they?"

"They will," he assured. He looked down, deep in thought. "Well I—I hope they will. I think my mom always says, uh…" He faltered and decided not to say anymore. "Never mind."

I laughed and Ruby chuckled. Ruby thought for a moment. "So," she began, "I got this thing." She took out her weapon in scythe form and the blade smashed into the ground.

"Whoa!" Jaune and I took a step backwards cautiously. "Is…that a scythe?" he asked nervously.

Ruby carried the scythe in both hands. "It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper-rifle."

"A wha…?"

She cocked her weapon. At the same time, we both replied to him. "It's also a gun."

"Oh," he said. "That's cool!"

"So, what've you got, Leo?" she asked.

I smiled. "I'm so glad you asked!" I reached behind me and grabbed the handle of Fire Forge, my war hammer, and showed it to them. "This baby is Fire Forge in war hammer mode. It's also a jack hammer and rocket launcher. See this part here?" I gestured to the edge of the hammer. "The metal can retract, revealing a sharp blade to make it an axe."

Ruby's eyes sparkled. She began talking so fast that even I couldn't understand her. "OhmygoshthatissocoolcanIseeithowdoesitworkwhatareitsfunctionsthatssocool!"

"Um, what?" Jaune and I exchanged a confused glance. "So," I said, changing the subject. "What do you have Jaune?"

"Oh," he said. "Uh, I—I got this sword." He unsheathed a regular sword with a _shhhing_.

"Ooooh," Ruby said, not as impressed as she was with my weapon. Tough Crowd.

"Yeah," Jaune continued. "I've got a shield too!" he took the holster off his belt. It expanded to become a white shield with a golden crest in the middle.

"So," I said. "What do they do?" I tapped the shield. Suddenly, the shield retracted and bounced off Jaune's hand.

"Whoa!" Jaune exclaimed as he tried catching the shield. It kept bouncing off his hands, so it looked like he was playing Hot Potato. "Ahh! Uwagh! Ahh!" The shield clattered to the ground and Jaune picked it up. "The—the shield gets smaller," he said, demonstrating it. "So…when I get tired of carrying it…I can just…put it away…"

"But…wouldn't it weigh the same?"

Jaune sagged. "Yeah, it does."

"Well," Ruby said, chuckling nervously. "I'm kinda of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it."

"Wait," Jaune said, his eyes widening in surprise. "You made that?!"

"Of course!"

"All students have to forge their own weapons," I said, thinking he should have known this. "Didn't you make yours?"

Jaune looked at his sword. "It's a hand-me-down," he explained. "My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me," I said.

"Well, I like it!" Ruby said, trying to cheer Jaune up. "Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." Says the girl that owns a scyfle [Yes, Val. I said scyfle. It's a combo of a scythe and a sniper-rifle. Duh!].

"Yeah," Jaune said, sheathing the sword. It seemed like something was on his mind. "The classics."

"So why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard?" Ruby asked as she started walking again.

"Eh, why not?" Jaune said, catching up to her. "My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'"

I thought about that. Not if the stranger you meet is actually a monster under the disguise of the Mist. You never know if they're really a friend or monster who literally means it when it says "We want to have you for dinner".

"Hey, where are we going?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Oh, I dunno," Jaune said. "I was following you two… You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of…recognizable landmark?" Ruby and I tried and failed to hold in our laughter. "Is, uh…is that a no?"

I chuckled. "That's a no."

**A/N okay! Leo has been added to the story! Please review my story! I'm open to suggestions. I'm very bad when it comes to ideas, so anything that you want will be fine! I would like some jokes or witty comments that Leo or Valkyrie can use. Please review and tell me what you think or wish to see!**

**~Moonwolf121, howlin' you a goodbye!**


	8. The Shining Beacon Part 2

_**Kellyn**_

_I stood in the crowd of students_. I surveyed the scene around me. Students that have made their way here loitered around, waiting for further instructions from the headmaster. I, too, am a student. But I'm here on another goal assigned to me by the Ranger Union: to make sure three outsiders don't cause too much trouble. I have been here for a while, honing my skills so I could match the average level of combat for students at Beacon.

I searched for a familiar face. I saw a flash of long golden hair. I made my way through the crowd. The person I saw was Yang. She's the adoption sister of one of the people I'm watching. I reached her in less than a minute. "Hey," I greeted.

Yang turned around. "Oh, hey Kellyn!" she said. Her lilac-colored eyes brightened, despite the fact that I turned her down on that date offer. I'm glad she's not one to hold grudges.

As I suspected, one of my targets was with her. Jack Blank turned around. He saw me and smiled. "Hey! It seems like we've stumbled upon each other again, my friend."

"Yeah." I smiled. He may have been my target, but he's still a nice kid. I'm sure we would have been friends in no time. Then I noticed someone missing and frowned. "Hey, where's Ruby?"

Jack cringed. "Oh, um, we kinda…ditched her."

"Why?" I asked, completely baffled.

"I didn't mean to!" Jack protested. "Yang ditched us and I just followed her behind, calling out to her to come back!"

"Hey, don't put the blame all on me!" Yang argued.

"And after you caught up to her, why didn't you go back?" I asked Jack.

Jack opened his mouth, but no words came out. He rubbed his head sheepishly. "You got us there."

Yang suddenly pointed. "Look! There's Ruby and Leo!"

Leo? One of my other targets was Leo Valdez. I turned around and saw him. Leo was walking in with Ruby and a blond boy. Leo wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and an army fatigue jacket. He had dark, curly hair and his wild brown eyes darted from side to side. His ADHD gave him that kind of nervous energy. On his tool belt was a red pin of a flaming hammer, the symbol of his father, Hephaestus.

"Ruby!" Jack called, as he waved to them. "Leo! Over here! We saved you a spot!"

Ruby and Leo saw us and spoke a few words to the other boy before rushing off to where we were. They came up next to me.

"Hey! What's the big idea of leaving us without a clue of what we're supposed to do?!" Leo demanded.

"Sorry," Jack apologized.

Leo looked at me. "Who's he?"

"This is Kellyn," Yang told him. "We met him back in the airship before we met you."

"Hi," I greeted.

"Nice to meet you," he replied. "I'm Leo."

"So!" Jack interrupted, looking at Ruby. "How's your first day going little sister?"

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" she asked crossly, looking very pissed.

"Yikes, meltdown already?"

"No," Leo interjected, "she literally exploded a hole in front of the school. And there was some fire and…and I think some ice." He thought it over for a moment.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked with a broad smile.

"Ugh, I wish!" Ruby groaned. She began explaining what happened, emphasizing her point. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me and then I sneezed and then I exploded and then she yelled again and then I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

Suddenly a shrill voice pierced the air behind us. "You!"

Ruby leaped into Jack's arms Scooby-doo style and shut her eyes tight. "Oh, god, it's happening again!" she wailed.

Leo and I jumped and spun around to see Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She was glaring at Ruby with her ice-cold eyes.

"You're lucky we weren't thrown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss scolded.

Jack's eyes widened as he stared at Ruby. "Oh my god, you really exploded."

"It was an accident!" she squeaked. She climbed off of Jack and stood to face Weiss. "It was an accident!"

Weiss held a brochure in front of Ruby's face that was titled _Dust for Dummies and other Inadequate Individuals_.

"What's this?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"The Schnee dust company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustainable of operating a Schnee Dust product," she said. "Although not mandatory, the Schnee family highly encourages our customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to dust application and practice in the field."

Ruby, Jack, and Leo stared blankly at Weiss. "Uh…" Ruby said.

"Do you really want to start making things up to me?" Weiss asked.

"Absolutely?" Ruby replied, not quite sure.

Weiss pushed the pamphlet into Ruby's hands. "Read this and don't ever speak to me again."

"Look, uh," I said, hoping to straighten things out. "Sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed. "Great idea, Kellyn!" She turned to Weiss and held her hand out. She cleared her throat. "Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."

"Yeah!" Weiss said with mock enthusiasm. "And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys like tall, blond and…scraggly over there." She jerked her thumb to the boy Ruby and Leo arrived with.

He perked up at the mention of him. "Hmm?"

"Or maybe like your tall friend here with the hazelnut hair." I slightly recoiled a bit at this comment.

"Wow, really?" Ruby asked, a happy smile spreading across her face.

There was a dramatic pause. "No," Weiss finally said.

Silence followed. I decided to look around for my last target. I scanned the area. I searched through the rows of heads until I saw a girl with long black hair and intense brown eyes.

I found my final target. Her name is Valkyrie Cain. According to her file, she was strong and intelligent. She was capable of fighting all by herself and winning. Nothing can stop her from accomplishing her goal. She's even stronger when surrounded by friends. She wore her usual black protective clothing and her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail. There was a dark violet crest on the back of her jacket.

I continued to stare. She was beautiful. She was a knockout. Not only that, but she was fit and was a hard worker at everything she does. God, I couldn't think of any girl better than one who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

Valkyrie was looking around. She turned her head and she laid her eyes on me. I quickly looked away, hoping she didn't notice me staring. The heat rose to my face. I glanced at Leo.

He was looking at me and had a crooked grin on his face. "What are you smiling at?" I demanded.

He didn't answer. He simply looked away and grinned like a madman, muttering "Classic," over and over again.

I was just about to smack him upside the head when Professor Ozpin walked onto the stage to give his speech. He went to the mike.

"I'll…" he began, pausing as he pushed up his glasses, "keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you…and all I see is wasted energy. A need of purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." He seemed to look directly at me, Jack, Leo, and Valkyrie as he began to say his final line. "It is up to you to take the first step."

And with that, he walked off the stage. Jeez, I thought. Nice welcoming speech Professor. Is this how you always inspire students? But I guess it was true. The Academy is only a tool you use to help you. If you want to accomplish anything, you have to do it yourself.

Glynda Goodwitch walked up to the mike to give us further instructions. "You will gather at the ballroom tonight," she informed the students. "Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." The students began to make their way out of the auditorium.

"He seemed kinda…" Yang began.

"Off," Jack finished.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby added.

"Yeah," Leo agreed.

As soon as he said that, the blond guy from earlier with Leo and Ruby appeared next to Weiss. "I'm a natural blond, ya know," he informed her, pointing to himself. Well, I thought. Isn't he terrible at flirting [I'm sorry Jaune, but it's true.].

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

><p>Night finally came. I changed out of my Ranger uniform and into a regular T-shirt and pants. I set up my sleeping bag next to Jack, Leo, Yang, and Ruby. We only met today, but I could tell we were already warming up to each other. Jack and the others also had changed into their pajamas.<p>

"It's like a big slumber party," Jack said cheerfully to Ruby.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the other boys, though," Ruby said, not looking up from her paper.

Yang jumped onto her sleeping bag. "I know I do," she said, giving a little purr. She winked at me and I chuckled nervously. She stared at the other male students who had no shirts on. She continued to stare until Jaune walked by in footie pajamas. He caught Yang's eye and stopped in his tracks. He smiled at her. "Eww," Yang said, dropping her mesmerized smile.

Jack and Leo laughed. I looked at what Ruby was doing. "What's that?" I asked.

"A letter to the gang back at Signal," she replied, finally looking up. "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aww," Yang said. "That's soooo cuuuuute!"

"Shut up!" Ruby yelled as she threw her puppy pillow at her. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school," she said through gritted teeth. "It's weird not knowing anyone here." She looked away.

"What about Jaune?" Jack asked. "He's…nice."

"There you go!" Yang said cheerfully. "Plus one friend!"

"That's a hundred percent increase!" I added.

Ruby flopped to her back. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend," she said. "Back to zero."

"There's no such thing as negative friends," Leo corrected. "You just made one friend and one enemy."

Jack threw his pillow at Leo. "Not helping," he grumbled to Leo through gritted teeth.

"Look," I said. "It's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet. I mean, look at us! Leo and I are your friends, right?"

"Yeah!" Leo flashed her a mischievous smile. "You are officially on Team Leo!"

Before Ruby could comment on that happy note, her attention was caught by a girl who lit three candles and began reading a book. She had dark hair and a black bow. She looked like she could have been Valkyrie's twin had it not been for the girl's golden eyes. "That girl!" Ruby said, recognizing her.

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"Not really," Ruby admitted. "She saw what happened this morning but left before I could say anything." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Welp," Jack said. "Now's your chance!" He and Yang grabbed Ruby by the arms and yanked her to her feet.

"Wait!" Ruby protested. "What are you doing?!" She struggled under the strong grip of Jack and Yang.

Leo started to follow. He glanced back at me, not moving. "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nah, go on without me. I just need to do something."

He shrugged and followed Yang and Jack as they dragged Ruby to the girl with golden eyes. I got up and looked through my bag, searching for something. I found it and stuffed the item into my pocket. I grabbed my jacket and slipped on my shoes, then quietly made my way through the sleeping figured of students. I exited the ballroom and walked through the halls while slipping on my jacket. I went outside and headed to the watch tower, the highest point in Beacon. I climbed all the way to the top and sat down on the ledge. My breath was seen through the cold night air.

I rifled through my pocket and brought out a green leaf. A leaf whistle. I pressed it to my lips and began to play a soft and peaceful song. The song reminded me of my family and home, of my precious childhood memories.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice the person walking slowly behind me until I felt a movement in the air. Someone had just sat next to me. I opened one eye to see the beautiful face of Valkyrie Cain. Her eyes were closed as I continued to play. A soft smile played on her lips, one that was sad yet peaceful. She took small and gentle breaths. She was in her usual black clothing from earlier, but her hair was untied and it fell elegantly to her back.

I finished the song. Everything was silent for a moment, minus the soft chirps of crickets and the whispers of the wind. "What song was that?" she finally asked.

"Arasion," I answered. "My mother used to play it to me every night before bed. It's said that this song can calm even the angriest of souls."

"Well, it sure worked on my soul." She chuckled lightly, sending a small jolt of happiness through me. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"I should be asking you the same thing."

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a little walk when I heard your music. How about you?

"I couldn't sleep either, so I decided to play some soothing music where I couldn't disturb anyone," I admitted. "But I mainly play it to remind myself of home and my family." I looked off in the distance. "To remind me of the times when I didn't have so much pressure stacked upon me. When I wasn't a hero who everyone looked up to or expected to do no mistakes. When I was just a normal guy with a normal life."

"When you were just a kid wishing to be _like_ a hero," she added quietly. "Not really being _the_ hero."

I looked down at the drop below me. "Yeah," I softly agreed.

We sat in quiet for a few moments. "That song was beautiful," she said, breaking the silence. "It reminded me of my home and family as well." She looked at me and smiled—a pure, happy smile that made my heart go _ka-bump_. "Valkyrie Cain. You?"

I smiled back. "Kellyn Nyrel. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded and smirked playfully. "I'm sure it is."

I rolled my eyes as I tried to stop my grin from spreading. I stood up and headed to the stairs. "We should get some shut eye," I called behind me. "It's a big day tomorrow."

She caught up to me and we headed to the ballroom once again. We headed back the same way we came. As we entered the ballroom and began to part ways, I turned to her and held my hand out. "May we see each other again," I said.

She shook my hand. "That'll only happen if we both survive through initiation" she joked, prodding my arm.

"Then I guess that we'd both better stay alive then," I decided with a smile.

"I will. I hope we meet again. But until then," she pointed to me and winked, "don't die, Kellyn Nyrel."

"I promise I won't. Don't die either, Valkyrie Cain."

And with that, we took our separate ways. But I knew somewhere in my gut that I would surely meet her again. I knew that Fate arranged this encounter, and that usually means that something big is coming. But until that time comes, I just need to live and survive. Here's to a hopefully successful initiation.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Okay, Kellyn as official started his part of the story! So, what do you think of Valkyrie and Kellyn? For all you Skulduggery Pleasant fans waiting for Valkyrie's POV, I'm glad to say that her chapter is up next! Anyways, please review and tell me what you think! I'm still open for ideas on some witty comments or conversations. Remember, there are no bad ideas! I want to hear anything you think would be a perfect conversation for these characters. I have one review already for a Leo/Valkyrie conversation, and I'll be adding it to the story when the perfect chapter comes. So, please review!**

**Moonwolf121 here, howlin' you, my dear reader, a good time~**


	9. The First Step

**A/N I changed the 8th chapter a bit at the end. I realized that they kept saying "stay alive" so I changed a few words. Plus, I made Kellyn promise that he would survive initiation. So...yeah. My brother helped me out a bit on this chapter, so a shout out to him! And thank you, Okdes, for always reviewing! It's good to know someone's reading. Everyone else reading, please review! So...Valkyrie's coming up now!**

**_Valkyrie_**

_When regular headmasters say "initiation", _they mean taking a test that gauges your intelligence. When Professor Ozpin says "initiation", he means launching under-graduates off a cliff to fight hordes of monsters for their spot in Beacon while he casually sips coffee. Honestly, I think that man is…actually, I have to give him props for that. With every headmaster it's boring. With him, he makes you fight to the death. Well played, good sir. I'm sure Skulduggery would love to take a few good tips from you [Skulduggery, if you're reading this, you'd _better not_ take any tips from him for any combat training you have in mind.].

The nightmare I had last night didn't help my mood. Everyone, even the boys, had to sleep in the ballroom together. As soon as I closed my eyes, I had the nightmare. I kept hearing things I didn't want to hear, seeing things I didn't want to see.

I was exhausted.

But I guess there was one good side to yesterday. While we were waiting for further instructions from the Professor, I saw this really cute bloke named Kellyn [Not a word out of you, Leo]. He was looking at me, but as soon as I saw him, he quickly looked away. Then, as I walked around outside last night when I couldn't sleep, I heard him playing a beautiful melody. Arasion, Kellyn called it. I followed the music and found him. We had a small conversation, and we parted ways as we arrived back at the ballroom. He promised he'd stay alive. I just met him and barely know the guy, but for some reason I felt happy when he promised me that. I almost felt like he was making that promise just for me. I hope that he's part of my team.

_Aw_, Darquesse cooed in my head. _Does the famous and hard headed Valkyrie Cain have a crush on a particular blue eyed boy?_

Shut the hell up, I told her. Luckily, she did.

I stood in front of my open locker that was next to the locker of Pyrrha Nikos. She was a nice girl. I wasn't exactly her friend, but I wasn't her enemy either. We just said hi occasionally.

I was going over the nightmare. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. It didn't help that it was already fading from my memory. I remembered small bits of it. I know that the future where Darquesse kills my family was part of it, but there was more. I saw things I didn't understand. Something about gods and heroes and weird looking monsters and a person who once carried the same burden I carry…

I sighed. There was no sense in thinking it over now. I needed to be ready and alert for initiation. I slipped my black Necromancer ring—Soul Seeker—onto my finger. I felt the sheer coldness it contained. I then grabbed my stun baton out of my locker and looked it over in my hand. I called it Memories of Bone. I was probably thinking about Skulduggery and my old friends when I made it.

I remember Skulduggery giving me a stun baton for my birthday, claiming that it was a stick. I remember saying how I wanted a sword. I grabbed the end of the stick with my right hand and tugged. Part of the baton snapped off, and I unsheathed a shining sword. Now I have both.

I flicked the sword. The blade retracted, leaving a six-inch to dagger, useful for when I needed to get up close and personal. I flicked it again and the whole blade retracted. Then it snapped and rearranged itself and soon I held a revolver in my hand.

Good. Looks like everything was in order. I snapped it twice and it morphed back into a sword. I sheathed the blade and I had a stun baton once again. I reached into my locker and grabbed a disc that would serve as a magnet for my baton. I attached it onto my back then I reached behind me with the hand with the baton in it. The baton snapped into place.

I'd love to see the look on Skulduggery's face when he realizes that I have a better weapon than him. He'd probably say something dry. Something understated and funny. God, I missed his humor. These few months have been a bore.

I stared at myself in the mirror. I wondered how such a sweet, innocent twelve year old could turn into such a strong woman who is one day destined to destroy the world.

_Magic corrupts_, whispered Darquesse.

Yeah, it sure does.

A locker door slammed shut. "C'mon Nora," I heard a male voice say. A tall boy with a pink highlight in his dark hair walked past me, tailed by a cheery looking girl in pink.

"But not together, together," she said wistfully as she began humming.

"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?" said a familiar voice. I looked around to see the boy I protected the other day. Jack, I believe his name was. There was something about this kid that I didn't get, something familiar. There was some kind of story behind him that seemed to call out to me. Hmm…I needed to keep an eye on him.

"Oh, who knows?" said the blond girl next to him. I'd guess that those two were siblings. I decided to listen in to the conversation, even though Skulduggery once said that spying was rude.

"So!" said a small Latino kid with curly hair and a wild face. He faced a girl maybe just about a few months younger than Jack. "You seem awfully chipper this morning!"

The girl turned around. She had sparkling grey eyes on her pale face that stood out from her black and red hair. Her clothing made her seem like a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood. That was Ruby Rose. She was the girl with Jack the other day.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "You're in a nice mood now aren't you little sis?"

_Little sis_. My heart ached at those two words. _Alice_. I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't have myself lingering on that when I have a big day ahead of me. That life has been taken away from me, anyways. I don't live that life anymore. My reflection does._ Stephanie_ does. She took it away from me, and I can never go back. But of course it's my fault. Still, I couldn't help but feel extremely angry that damn little bi—

The sound of Ruby's giggle brought me back to reality. "Yep. No more awkward small-talk and getting-to-know-you stuff." She took out a giant sniper-rifle from her locker. "Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She drooled over her weapon and cuddled it lovingly. Umm…oookaaay.

"Well, remember, Ruby," Jack said. "You're not the only one going through initiation."

"If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together," her sister added.

Ruby groaned and stuffed her weapon back into her locker. "Ugh, you two sound like Dad," she said through gritted teeth. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up," she pointed a finger at them. Then she crossed her arms and stood proudly. "I drink milk!"

I stifled a laugh. Seems like Ruby's got quite an imagination.

"Hmm…" the small Latino said, not convinced. "Oh really? Well during breakfast today you called out saying 'Hey Jack, Yang, Leo! Check it out'. Then you struck a pose like this," he mimicked Ruby putting her chin between the space between her thumb and index finger, "and you had a milk mustache on. Doesn't seem very appropriate for your age now does it?"

I tried very hard to not burst out laughing. Yang and Jack didn't have as much luck. I could just imagine Ruby. God, I wish I could have had those kinds of moments with Alice.

"UWAAAH!" Ruby shrieked in embarrassment. "LEO! You can't just bring up these things in public! People could hear!" Yeah. People like me. [Vnixxir reference from deviantart! -Moonwolf121]

"Yeah," Yang snickered. "That milk's workin' out _reeeal_ well for ya…"

"So…" Jack said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Back to the topic at hand. What about when we form teams?" Jack asked Ruby, his hands on his hips.

"Uh, I don't know," Ruby said, looking away. "I—I'll just be on your team or something…"

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team," Yang said slowly, playing with her hair.

"Yeah," Jack agreed nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

"My dearest brother and sister Yang and Jack," Ruby said, walking up to them and pointing an accusing finger at them both. "Are you implying that you two do not wish to be on the same team as me?!"

"What? No, of course we do," Yang told her, denying that idea even though I'm pretty sure that's what they meant.

"We just thought…" Jack said, hesitating. "I don't know, maybe it would help you…break out of your shell."

"What the—I don't need to break out of my shell!" Ruby exclaimed, flailing her arms and freaking out a bit. "That's absolutely—"

"Ridiculous!" interrupted a boy with blond hair and blue eyes; I believe his name was Jaune? He was walking past them and looking down at a piece of paper. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday!" he ranted. "I would have remembered having to count that high." He groaned. "Why does this have to happen today?"

"So, Pyrrha," said a voice next to me and Pyrrha. I turned to see Weiss Schnee standing there, looking hopefully at the one next to me. "Have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?" she asked. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself." It was true. I've seen her get dozens requests from many people, all of them asking her to join their team. Some also came to me, but of course, why would I? To be honest, I really didn't want to form a team. Not so soon after being taken away from my past life.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure," Pyrrha admitted. "I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

"Well…" Weiss ventured. "I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." She looks to me as well. "And maybe you too? Depends on if you are good enough though."

I looked at her crossly. "Well excuse me, Snow White," I replied. "I'm pretty sure that I can beat _you_ any day, anytime."

"Well I think that idea sounds grand!" Pyrrha said cheerfully.

"Great!" Weiss smiled. Then she looked at me and scowled. "And not so great, but I don't need you."

_Kill her_, Darquesse said in my head._ Kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her._

Hell no. I didn't like her, but I wasn't gonna kill her. Beat her up in combat, maybe. But not kill her.

I really didn't want to be part of her team anyways, but for some reason I suddenly wanted to rip out someone's arm. Oh wait, I just remembered doing that to Skulduggery once. Good times. Anyways, I'm pretty sure that she's one of those stuck-up rich kids that get exactly what they want. I could just imagine a plan going through her head right at this moment.

"Look, Princess," I growled. "I don't know who you are but I'm pretty sure I've been in more life or death situations in one _year_ than you've had in your entire _life_. So I'm going to tell you this once and only once: I—"

Suddenly, the boy from a few minutes earlier came up. "You know what else is great?" he asked Weiss, interrupting me at the same time. He pointed to himself, "Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

Weiss scoffed "You again?"

I scowled at Jaune. "Hey, buddy, I was just in the middle of—"

This time Pyrrha interrupted me. "Nice to meet you Jaune," she greeted. What is it, Ignore and Interrupt Valkyrie Day?

"Yeah, yeah," Jaune said, dismissing Pyrrha. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear you fondness of me the other day," he said, flexing his imaginary muscles.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me," Weiss muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Don't worry," Jaune assured her, "no need to be embarrassed."

I look at Weiss, still a bit miffed. "He's joking, right?"

"So," he continued, oblivious to my comment. "I've been hearing rumors about teams. I was thinking that you and me would make a good one, what do you say?"

"Actually," Pyrrha interrupted. "I think the teams are comprised of four students each so—"

"You don't say," Jaune said dropping his hands. Then he scooted over to us, a bit too close for my liking. He put an arm on my shoulder and began to flirt with us. "Well, hot stuffs, play your cards right and maybe you two could join up with the winning team."

I looked at his arm on my shoulder. I smiled at him. "Get your damn arm off my shoulder before I rip it right out of its socket and shove my baton straight through the bloody hole left behind. I will rip out your other arm as well, and I'll then proceed to making it come out of the other end. I will hang you by the largest tree and turn you into a scarecrow. And believe me; it will hurt worse than a Beowolf from hell gutting you alive. Then I'll feast on your entrails if I feel like it," I told him happily. The entrails part disgusted me, but I think he got the picture. If Darquesse ever came out, I'm sure she would do the same, except for the entrails part of course. Actually, she's asking me to let her do that right now [Jaune, if you're reading this…that was no joke. And if you ever. Hit. On. Me. Again…I'll oblige to her will. You have been warned, Blondie.].

_Do it_, Darquesse whispered to me again. _Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it._

Jaune looked horrified, but before he could react to my happy threat, Weiss stepped in between us. "Jaune is it?" she asked. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel," he said, recovering.

"This," Weiss said, gesturing to Pyrrha, "is Pyrrha."

"Hello again," Pyrrha said, waving.

"Pyrrha graduated top of our class at Sanctum."

I frowned. "What am I, chopped liver?" I asked, but was ignored.

"Never heard of it," Jaune said with a shrug.

Weiss scoffed in disbelief. "She won the Miss Regional Tournament four years in a row. A new record."

"The what?"

Weiss scowled. She flailed her arms wildly. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Jeez, is she a fangirl or something?

Jaune gasped. "That's you?! They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Pyrrha admitted.

"Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you," I interjected with a shrug.

"So, after hearing all this," Weiss interrupted coldly. "Do you really think you're in a position to ask _her_ to be on your team?" Jeez. That's cold, Snow Angel. That's _Weiss_ cold.

"I—I guess not," Jaune said looking down at the floor, crestfallen. "Sorry."

"Actually, Jaune," Pyrrha said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think you would make a great leader."

Jaune perked up. "Oh, stop it!" he said happily.

"Seriously," Weiss said. "Please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick," he said; already back to his old self. Spots are filling up quick?

"Dude, convinced only one person to join your team," I pointed out.

"Now I'm not supposed to do this," he went on, not hearing me, "but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" He leaned in even closer to Weiss.

Weiss backed away. "Alright, that's a bit too close." She looked to me and Pyrrha. "Guys, a little help please."

I raised my hands. "Don't look at me. You questioned my fighting skills. You ain't getting help from me."

As Jaune turned around, Pyrrha sent her spear through the cloth on his shoulder, pulling him back and pinning him against the wall. "Gah!" he squeaked.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized.

Suddenly, Glynda Goodwitch began to speak through the speakers. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation," she ordered. "Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Weiss walked to the direction of the exit and Pyrrha followed. She retrieved her red and gold spear on the way. "It was nice meeting you," she said to Jaune who slumped to the floor.

"Likewise," he sighed.

I began to walk away as I saw Ruby, Yang, Leo and Jack walked up to Jaune. "Having some trouble there, Lady Killer?" Leo asked with a chuckle as Ruby offered Jaune a hand.

"I don't understand," Jaune said miserably. "My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?" He took Ruby's hand and she lifted him up.

"'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start," Yang offered.

"And the fact that you tried to flirt with three girls that were _waaay_ out of your league; and at the same time at that," Jack added.

Ruby slung Jaune's arm around her shoulder and helped him walk. "C'mon Jaune," she said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"For years, you have trained to become warriors," Prof. Ozpin said to the new students. We stood on launch pads as we were given directions. I stood between Ruby and Jaune. "Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."<p>

"Now," Glynda said, "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates." She looked at us seriously. "Today."

Damn.

"What? Ho…" I heard Ruby whine quietly. At least I wasn't the only one who hated the team idea.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," the Professor informed us. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Double Damn.

"Oh…" Ruby squeaked.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Aw, fu—

"What?!" Ruby shrieked.

"That's a totally reliable way to decide things," Jack muttered under his breath.

"See!" Nora said to the guy in green. "I told you—"

"After you've partnered up," the Prof. interrupted, "make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

_That's not too hard_, Darquesse said in my head. _Especially if you let me out. What do you say, Val?_

Hell naw.

Jaune chuckled nervously and I heard him gulp.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item as well as your standing and grade you appropriately." He paused. "Are there any questions?" he asked.

Jaune raised his hand. "Yeah, um, sir—"

"Good!" the professor said, ignoring Jaune. "Take your positions."

Everyone either brought out their weapon or got ready to be flung off the cliff. Ruby put a hand in front of her and one positioned behind her, just in case she needed her weapon. Yang's gauntlets arranged themselves on her arms. Jack took hold of the hilt of his trident. Leo reached behind him and grabbed a war hammer that clung to his back. The guy in green to me took out green pistols with a blade attached to it. I stood in a combat position, with my hands in front of me and my knees bent. I was going to use the air to break my fall.

Jaune's didn't move at all. He just kept his arm raised. "Um, sir? I've got, um, a question."

Weiss was launched off the platform first, rapier in hand. The other kids began to get launched off as well, one by one in order.

"So, this landing…strategy thing…uh, what—what is it? You're like, dropping us off or something?"

"No," the Professor replied. "You will be falling."

Another person was launched off.

"Oh…I…see. So, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

Nora was launched off. "Whee!" she squealed in delight.

"No." The Professor replied. "You will be using your own landing strategy."

Leo gave Jack a wicked grin before getting launched off.

"Uh-huh, yeah."

Yang winked at Jack before putting on sunglasses and getting launched off the cliff. Jack gave Ruby a thumbs-up before following Yang's trail. Ruby faced me and smiled before joining her siblings. I got ready to feel the thrill of falling with style. I felt a jolt in my legs and before I knew it, I was soaring through the air.

Through the roar of the wind in my ears, I could hear Jaune asking one final question before getting launched off the cliff.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategEEEEEEYYYYY?!" The last part was him screaming at the top of his lungs as he was flung into the sky. I smiled. Let the games begin.

**A/N Me: Like Valkyrie said...or thought...whatever... (spreads arms out wide and uses an announcer's voice) Time for the games to begin!**

**Kellyn: Do you really have to do that?**

**Me: Be silent, non-believer!**

**Leo: Okay, now you're just copying me.**

**Me: Off with your head!**

**Valkyrie: Now you're just copying Alice in Wonderland**

**Me: (sagging) You people are no fun... (sighs) anyways...yeah, initiation begins in the next chapter. Stay tuned for Kellyn's partner and see if he keeps his promise to Val!**

**Leo: Guess who Kellyn's partner is. It's none other than—**

**Me: (sneaks up behind Leo and shouts in his ear) INTERRUPTED BY ME!**

**Leo: (jumps forward and trips into a bucket of water I set in front of him)**

**Everyone: (laughs)**

**Me: (laughing) Anyways, this is Moonwolf121 and Team JVLN howlin' you, our dear reader, a good time~**


	10. Navy Storm and Fire Hammer

**_Kellyn_**

_A bird flew peacefully in the sky._ It flew with grace. It flew undisturbed. That is, until Ruby flew into it, knocking it out of the sky. "Birdy, no!" she screeched.

Poor bird, I thought. Now it will forever have nightmares of a 15 year old girl that looks like Little Red Riding Hood falling from the sky every time it flies [Sorry Ruby, but you really must have scarred that bird.].

Ruby shot out bullets from her sniper rifle three times, using the recoil of it to slow down her descent. Then she changed it to its scythe mode and successfully hooked onto a tree, swinging around and finally dropping onto the forest floor.

Weiss Schnee twisted in the air and used a Glyph to take control of her direction and speed.

A boy with black hair and green clothing flipped in the air and used the blade of his weapon to glide down a tree.

Valkyrie dove down with her hands at her sides. Then she splayed them out, twisted, and swung a right hook in the air with her right hand. The air around her shimmered and rippled then caught her, placing her gently on the ground.

I saw a girl in red and gold—Pyrrha Nikos—breaking through trees with her shield then rolling onto a branch. Her spear turned into a rifle as she searched for someone on the scope. She must have seen Jaune screaming as he fell. She changed it back to a spear and aimed carefully, then threw it using the recoil of the rifle shot to make the spear go farther. Soon there was a soft _thunk_ as it seemed to reach its target. "Thank you!" I heard Jaune say from a distance.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha called, waving.

I saw Leo falling as well. He waited until he was close enough to the ground until he swung his war hammer on the ground. The impact seemed to rattle his bones, but he didn't let go. Leo bounced up a little, breaking his fall, and tumbled to the ground.

My turn. I swung my right arm behind me. Suddenly, a long blue grappling hook made of aura emerged from the blue orb on my gauntlet. I threw the grappling hook at a nearby and it grabbed onto the branch. I swung myself onto the grassy floor. I stood up straight and brushed myself off.

I heard a boom and saw Yang and Jack flying overhead.

"Woo-hoo!" I heard them yell. The shots continued for a while. One round stopped, and then the other round subsided.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. Time for the games to begin. I started off with a sprint, hoping to find one of my three targets along the way. A part of me hopped that that one person was a girl in black with brown intense eyes.

I slowed down as I came across a stream in an open clearing. I bent down and cupped my hands. Then I scooped up some water and started drinking.

That's when I heard a twig snap. I stiffened and stood still, listening. I drowned out the noise of the trickling water and tried to sharpen my senses. I closed my eyes and accessed my aura.

The world around me switched into a blue 3-D animated picture. I imagined looking around the area around me. It obeyed my will and my vision started to move through the forest, dodging trees in quick, jerky motions while surveying the area. Then it stopped and I knew why. Five yards behind me, there was a disturbance in the radiating energy, an empty gap in the aura filled biome. There was only one kind of species that could contain no aura or soul whatsoever. Grimm.

My eyes flew open. I lunged out of the way as a Beowolf charged at me. I rolled up into a standing position and whirled around just as the Beowolf skidded to a halt and turned to me. I produced a glowing blue aura broad sword out of the gauntlet on my right hand and a sturdy aura shield on my left. The Beowolf charged again and I blocked its swipe with my shield. I used my semblance, electricity, to send a shock through its body, paralyzing it. Then I swung up high and cut its head off with the broad sword. The Beowolf's body grew limp as the head bounced and rolled on the ground.

My weapons disappeared as the Beowolf began to disintegrate into small sparks. I dusted myself off. That was quick, I thought to myself. A little _too_ quick. I frowned. Don't Beowolves travel in packs or pairs, just like regular wolves? Then again, there are also lone wolves. I'm sure that this one was a lone wolf. If so, then why did I feel something wrong?

I heard a roar and whirled around just in time to see a second Beowolf lunging at me. I tried to dodge out of the way, but it was too close. It slammed into me and I flew back. I hit a tree and my head banged against the trunk. Spots danced in front of my eyes. I looked back up to see the Beowolf in front of me. It swiped at me and I was sent sprawling to the ground. I groaned and coughed. The Beowolf was going to attack any second now. My head was throbbing. I turned onto my back and lifted myself a bit with my elbow. The Beowolf was now less than a yard away. I tried to crawl to safety, but I had no such luck. The monster loomed over me, its shadow shrouding me completely. I shut my eyes tight, ready for my final moments. I guess I will never get to fulfill my mission, I thought dully. I'm sorry Mom, Dad. I'm sorry Little Sis.

Guess I can't keep my promise to Valkyrie, I thought gingerly. Sorry Val.

I heard a sickening _THUD_ and the sound of a heavy body dropping to the ground. I opened my eyes to see that the Beowolf's head was chopped off, already disintegrating into ashes floating in the air. Behind the Beowolf's large body was none other than Leo Valdez, grinning as his war hammer rested on his shoulder, currently in its axe form. Parts of the weapon began to form along the blade, covering it until it wasn't visible anymore. The hilt retracted a bit and Leo slipped the weapon behind his back.

Leo gave me a mischievous smirk as he offered me a hand. I took it and he pulled me up. "Thanks man," I told him. "For a second there I thought I was dead meat. I owe you one."

He nodded solemnly. "Yes you do." He smiled. "Just kidding. I couldn't just let you die." He then stood next to me and wrapped his arm around my neck…or at least tried to. I was a bit tall for him, so he had a hard time trying to get it around. "So I guess we're partners now!" he said happily.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Damn. I was hoping on getting Valkyrie. Oh well. We might still be able to be on the same team. Meanwhile, I get to be partners with the one who would cause the most trouble. Hopefully Jack will be partnered up with Valkyrie so I can watch them easier.

Until then, I'll have to survive with Leo throughout initiation.

"C'mon," I said. "We'd better get moving, just in case those Beowolves were part of a pack."

He nodded and gave a salute. "Sir yes sir." And with that, we plunged into the forest. Little did we know that from somewhere Fate was watching us, her plan coming along perfectly. Initiation was just the beginning of her big plot full of amazing and exciting adventures that would change the worlds' perspective of us, both in Remnant, Earth, and the world of Pokémon.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Surprise! Kellyn's partner is Leo!<strong>

**Leo: (grumbling) I was going to tell them that before you screeched in my ear and made me fall in that bucket of water...**

**Me: (whining voice) But you would have spoiled it! Oh, and one note to the readers: Fate is technically an OC of me, since I'm the one planning this story out. So the everyone in the story will be calling me Fate.**

**Jack: I guess you probably know who my partner is.**

**Me: Yes, I'm sure we all know. But don't say it 'cause that's the same as spoiling. Unless you want a pie to the face. (holds up a pie with whipped cream)**

**Jack: (backs away and chuckles nervously) Nah, I'm good. I just had some pie.**

**Me: Good. Cause I made this pie especially for Ruby.**

**Ruby: Ooh! Pie! What flavor is it?**

**Me: (uses a deep, manly voice) PIE FLAVOR.**

**Valkyrie: Well that's a bit creepy.**

**Me: (regular voice; smiles brightly) I know!**

**Kellyn: Ooookay. You're extra quirky today.**

**Me: Yes I am. Anyways, this is Moonwolf121-or Fate if you want to call me that-and team JVLN along with Ruby howlin' you a good time~**

**(P.S. I'm gonna be doing this as much as can. and I really didn't like this chapter. Actually, it's my least favorite one. Sorry :-P)**


	11. Violet Tulip and Jade Star

**_Jack_**

_I rolled to the ground and stood up._ I brushed myself off as I began to wander around. Hmm, seems quite enough. I walked around as I waited to find someone. I had to make sure that I was paired up with someone that I could work well with. Let's see, who do I know? Okay, there's Ruby and Yang. It'd be pretty cool to be their partner, but it would be a small possibility. But it's still a possibility, so I won't rule it out.

Then there's Leo. He's pretty funny. Judging by his very detailed weapon, I'd say he's pretty good in a fight. But he can be pretty annoying. Take last night for example. While Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and I were arguing, he interrupted us by saying "Ladies! And…you." He gestured to me. "There's no need to fight. There's enough Leo to go around!" We glared at him and I thought that we would make a silent agreement: kill Leo then continue to be at each other's throats. He seemed to notice because he backed out of the conversation.

Moving on…there's also Jaune. He's nice and funny. But I don't think he's pretty good in a battle…and he flirts with girls a lot, so it would probably land me in a lot of fights.

Okay, what about Kellyn? That guy is kind and smart. I'm sure that he can make a pretty great battle plan. We seem to get along pretty well to. I can't really think of anything bad about him, so I guess I can add him to the list as well.

Anyone else? Oh, yeah, that Blake girl. She looked pretty cool. So calm; so mysterious. Although…I don't think I would be able to hold a conversation with her.

Next one…Weiss? Well, that's a big no-no. She's a freaking drama queen. Always thinking she's so perfect, blaming Ruby for everything. No way I'm gonna get her.

I was so focused on thinking of who should be my partner that I didn't notice the girl in black who had her back turned to me until I walked right in to her. I grunted in surprise as I bumped into her and tumbled backwards. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

Suddenly she whipped around, a black stick in her hand. She conked me on the arm, hard. I felt a painful jolt go up through my body. "Ack!" I stumbled backwards and fell, cursing as I held my arm. "Damn it!" I said to her. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"Sorry!" she apologized. She had an Irish accent. "You surprised me. I thought you were a Grimm. Reflexes," she added with a shrug.

I grumbled as I got back up. "What did you hit me with anyways?"

"Memories of Bone," the girl answered. "It's my stun baton."

Well, that's a strange thing to call your weapon, I thought mildly. I looked at the weapon and saw strange symbols etched into the wood. I looked up and met the girl's deep brown eyes. Seeing them made me realize that she was the same girl that saved me and Ruby the other day.

She seemed to realize it to. "Oh. It's you." I wasn't sure whether she sounded relieved or disappointed, but it didn't matter. "Jack Blank, am I correct?"

"That's me." I held my hand out. "And you are?"

She took my hand and gave it a firm shake. "Valkyrie Cain."

Valkyrie…what an uncommon name. But it seemed to fit her perfectly. She seemed like a fighter to me. A fighter with a penchant for raising Cain. I smiled inwardly at my joke. "Nice to meet you Valkyrie." I came to realize what just happened. "I guess that I'm now your partner," I said to her.

She hesitated for a moment. I saw something flicker in her eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it came. "Yeah," she agreed. "I guess you are."

I looked around as I got my thoughts together. I didn't know much about Valkyrie. All I knew was that she was pretty good in a fight. This is going to be a long day. I took a deep breath and immediately went into a coughing fit. There was something foul in the air. Valkyrie ran to my side as I was hunched over. "Whoa, kid, you okay?"

"Peachy," I replied and let out few more coughs. I stood straight up again.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Take a good whiff of the air," I said, looking around.

She took a breath and began to cough just like me. "Ugh! It smells like something is burning!"

I saw a tendril of smoke rising from a little ways away. "That's because something _is_ burning!" I gasped. I took off in a sprint. I heard Valkyrie call my name and run after me. After a minute or so I skidded to a halt as I came to a burning part of the forest. "Forest fire!" I exclaimed. Valkyrie was at my side now. "What do we do? We can't just let it grow. There are still students going through initiation!"

"Chill," Valkyrie said, completely calm. "I've got this." She closed her eyes and lifted both her hands. I stared at her, wondering what the heck she's doing. She took a deep breath, despite the fact that smoke was filling our lungs. "You can do this," she murmured. "Find the space where everything connects…"

She splayed her hands out and a large puddle of water floated above the fire. It got bigger and bigger until it matched the size of the flames. With a sudden jerk of Valkyrie's hands, the water fell on top of the fire and doused it. Nothing was left but ashes and burnt trees.

I stared at the area in amazement. "How did you do that?" I asked, completely baffled.

She shrugged. "My semblance is the power to manipulate the four elements: water, fire, ground, and air," she explained. "Can you guess how I got the water?"

I thought it over for a moment. "You drew out the moisture in the air?" I suggested.

She nodded. "Yep." She began to walk away. I caught up to her.

"So…any idea where the northern end of the forest is?" I asked her.

"Oh I don't know," she said sarcastically. "Maybe it's to the north of the forest!"

I looked at her. "Do you even know which way is currently north?" She stopped in her tracks and hesitated. I smirked slyly at her. "You don't, do you?"

"Shut up," she growled. She began to walk off ahead of me. "I just want to get this over with and head back ho—," she paused. "To Beacon." It sounded like she was going to say "home". I looked at her eyes and saw a hint of sadness. She shook her head. "C'mon. Let's go."

I tried to lighten the mood as we walked. "Well, maybe if you click your heels three times you will suddenly wake up and be at the top of the cliff, realizing that it was all just a silly dream!" [Yes Leo, I copied that out of the _Wizard of Oz_.].

Suddenly, Valkyrie stopped in her tracks and her head snapped to me. "What?" There was a look in her eyes…it was like she knew that line. But that was impossible. The _Wizard of Oz_ was only made in Earth. So how come she looked like that?

I had no idea why, but I felt the sudden need to come up with an excuse. "Umm…" I racked my brain for something. "What…what?" I asked stupidly. I immediately regretted it. Nice going Blank. That's a great way to remove all possible suspicion.

But Valkyrie seemed to buy it. She hesitated before mumbling "Never mind" and continuing to walk. I must have sounded like a complete idiot if she decided to ignore that fact. But at least the topic changed.

But I couldn't help but wonder. Why did she look so shocked? How does she know that line? Where does she really come from? She has an Irish accent. Is it possible that she lived in Ireland? Is it possible that she lived in Earth? I shook my head. There's no point on dwelling on that thought. She obviously wants this conversation to end as much as I do.

"Okay," I said, stopping. "We left soon after breakfast, which would mean that the sun has risen. It's been only a few hours, so the sun should still be in the east so…" I checked the position of the sun. It was on our left side. "If that way is east, then that way," I said, pointing to the opposite direction of where we were walking, "is north."

Valkyrie looked at me, impressed. "Nice thinking."

"Thanks. If we keep walking, we should reach the temple. I wonder what the relics are like."

We changed our direction and continued to walk. I stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets and leaned back a little. Despite the fact that there were supposed to be Grimm everywhere, we didn't encounter any so far. I smiled. "I guess initiation will be a piece of cake!" I told Valkyrie happily. Suddenly, we were surrounded by a pack of Beowolves.

"You were saying?" Valkyrie asked as we stood back-to-back.

"Me and my big mouth…" I grumbled. I reached behind me and grabbed Sea Serpent. I spun it in the air and the hilt began to grow. Then I held it out in front of me. Valkyrie grabbed her stun baton and brandished it at the pack. "You ready to fight?" I asked her.

"Always have been, always will be," she replied. Then, at the same time, we flew at the Beowolves.

I stabbed the first one in the neck. Using the recoil of the shotgun at the end of the hilt, the three blades dug in deeper until it decapitated the beast. I pointed the hilt at the head of another Beowolf and fired. Its head was shot off. Another Beowolf lunged at me. I rolled out of the way just in time. It lunged again and this time I held the trident out. The Beowolf flew right into the blades and died. I tugged my weapon out and charged at the next one. I stabbed it in the neck. It somehow survived and growled at me. Not dead yet? You will be. The orb in the center of the three blades began to glow. Suddenly, an ion wave blew the Beowolf's head of. Did I forget to mention that my trident also acts as an ion cannon? Three Beowolves came at me. I flipped by trident over and opened a slot. This slot was for the bullets of the shotgun. I reloaded, flipped up a hidden scope, and aimed at the Beowolves. I got a Beowolf behind another one and pulled the trigger. I killed them both with that one bullet. I shot the other one and then my section of the Beowolves was done. The monsters littered the ground and slowly evaporated into tiny green data bytes.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie was fighting her part of the pack. She smacked her baton on the head of a Beowolf and it crumpled to the ground, stunned. A Beowolf slashed at her. She rolled under the attack and stood back up. She flipped backwards and hit that Beowolf as well. In a swift motion, she tugged at one of the ends of the baton. It snapped off and she unsheathed a glowing metal sword. She jumped up and brought the blade down on to the monster's head. It was decapitated. She ran at the first Beowolf she hit and stabbed it in the head. Both beasts began to dissolve into dark purple petals. She ran at the others in a blur of black. She extended her left hand and hit a Beowolf in the face with her stun baton. At the same time, she twisted her body and slashed at another Beowolf's head with her sword hand. Its head fell off and the sword still swung, catching the Beowolf she stunned in the neck and chopping its head off as well. She flipped backwards over a Beowolf sneaking behind her. She landed on its back and dug her sword in its head. It grew limp and collapsed. She rolled off and stabbed forward at an approaching Beowolf. It was about to bite her when it ran straight into the blade. The monster fell and she tugged the blade out. She sheathed her blade, thinking the battle was over.

She had just attached the baton to her back when she heard a roar. She jerked around to see another Beowolf charging at her. She clicked her fingers and a fire enveloped her hand. She threw it, but the Beowolf dodged it and the flame hit a tree. The monster was now too close and was about to hit her, when suddenly an ion wave took off the beast's head. The body fell forward. She looked to her right and saw me standing sideways holding Sea Serpent at the spot where the Beowolf was, the ion cannon orb in the middle of the blades glowing silver. I smirked at her and she smiled back. "Thanks," she said.

"No prob." I looked at the burning tree. "You should probably put that out."

She looked at the tree and held her hand out. A small puddle formed in the air and doused the flames. "Happy?" she asked

"Over the moon." I twirled my trident in the air again as the hilt retracted. I then slid it behind my back. "You're a pretty good fighter," I praised. She was actually pretty good. I wonder why I haven't heard of her before. Maybe she took classes in a different region and kingdom. Oh well. At least she's my partner.

She looked at the Grimm that I killed off easily. "You're not that bad yourself, kid," she noted.

I chuckled. "You should see my sister Ruby when she gets serious. Or maybe Yang when someone touches her hair." She looked at me strangely. "Yang loves her hair," I explained. "I learned that the hard way when I accidentally plucked off a small strand. I had my arm in a cast for a month." I shuddered at the unpleasant memory, touching my left arm to make sure it was still there. Jeez, she was so angry. I then grinned at Valkyrie. "It was a pretty _grim _day."

She looked at me with a disapproving look. "What?" I asked. "Too soon?"

"No amount of time whatsoever will make that funny," she replied. She began to walk away. I caught up to her.

"C'mon, don't be a lone _wolf_!"

"Really, Jack? Really?"

"At least give me a small_ howl_ of laughter!"

"Okay, now you're just being stupid, Blank."

"Well, you don't have to_ growl_ at me!"

She grabbed the hilt of Memories of Bone. "Make one more damn joke and I swear I'm going to finish initiation with the head of a dead Blondie," she snarled.

I raised my hands. "Fine. Fine."

We began to walk again in silence, leaving behind a trail of dark violet petals and jade colored data bytes in our wake. I looked around the forest as we walked. Tree. Rock. Bush. Rock. More trees. More rocks. Another bush. I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: There we go! Jack has his partner! Tune in next time for chapter 12! BTW, I won't be posting as often as I usually do anymore. These past chapters I already typed on my computer, so all I needed to do was post them. It might take a week, maybe more, for the 12th chapter.<strong>

**Leo: Yeah, 'cause Fate is such a slow typer.**

**Me: Shut the hell up Leo. Unless you want a bucket of freezing water to the face. (holds up ice cold water)**

**Leo: (backs away) I'm good.**

**Me: I thought so. So yeah, sorry if I take forever on the next chapter. I'm still open for suggestions, though. Anyways, please review! This is Moonwolf121 and Leo, howlin' you a good time~**


	12. The Emerald Forest

**_Fate_**

_Somewhere up on Beacon cliff Professor Ozpin stood, watching the progress of his new students. Glynda Goodwitch walked up behind him. "Our last pair has been formed, sir," Glynda announced. She clicked a button and a video cam of two of the four heroes I sent appeared. The blond haired boy was cracking lame jokes to the clearly annoyed raven-haired girl._

_"Jack Blank and Valkyrie Cain," Glynda said, naming the new partners. She frowned and a look of sympathy passed in her eyes. "Poor girl," she murmured. "I can't possibly imagine those two getting along." Eh, I thought. They have more things in common than they would think. They can handle each other._

_"Still," Glynda continued, clicking another button and showing a video cam of the other two heroes, Leo Valdez and Kellyn Nyrel, "she's probably better off than Mr. Nyrel."_

_Professor Ozpin stole a glance at Glynda and grunted before returning his attention back to the device in hand. "I don't care what Fate says," Glynda ranted on. Oh do you now? "That Leo fellow should not have been the one to come here. That Perseus Jackson would have been a better choice. Or maybe even Annabeth Chase." She closed the device. "I guess we'll find out soon enough," she decided._

_Glynda turned on her heel and walked a few paces back. "At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which"—she turned her head to look at Professor Ozpin—"what did you use for relics this year?" When he did not answer, she turned her body fully toward him. "Professor Ozpin?"_

_Professor Ozpin was focused on the video cam of two other students, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. But that's enough of that. It's time to get back to the story that's at hand, which is currently with Valkyrie. So, shall we?_

**_Valkyrie_**

_I sighed with boredom._ We have been walking for what feels like forever and we still haven't reached the temple. I looked at Jack and he seemed to be as bored as I was.

"This sucks," he complained. "We still haven't seen any sign of the temple and we haven't seen a single human around." He groaned. "And I can't even tell any jokes because of Miss I-Don't-Have-a-Sense-of-Humor."

"It's not that I don't have a sense of humor," I corrected. "It's just that your jokes are bloody terrible."

"Hey, at least I'm trying."

Suddenly, we came across a steep decline. A broken down shrine with items neatly set on pedestals sat on the ground after it smoothed out. The walls were crumbling down and so was the top.

"Think this is it?" Jack asked stupidly.

I rolled my eyes. "No, Jack. This is just some random temple at the end of the northern forest that seems to just coincidentally have items that may or may not be the relics we need to complete initiation." [Well, it's your fault for asking such an obvious question, Jack.] And with that, I set off down the ravine.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Jack grudgingly followed me.

We entered the middle of the ruins and looked at the relics. Well…I don't think that you could call them _relics_, exactly. They were actually—

"Chess pieces?" Jack asked incredulously. "We were sent here to retrieve chess pieces?"

"Wow," I said slowly. "Professor Ozpin has really outdone himself this time. It must have been _so_ hard to get these. Well done, Professor." I clapped slowly. [Hey, he could have at least put _some_ effort with the relics.]

Jack rolled his eyes and noticed something. "Hey, some of them are missing," he pointed out to me.

Suddenly, a voice called out. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here." We looked up to see Kellyn and that small kid named Leo making their way down to us.

Jack waved to them. "Hey guys!" He called. "Finally, some familiar faces." The two boys walked up to us. "Valkyrie, these are my friends Leo Valdez and Kellyn Nyrel," he introduced. "Guys, this is Valkyrie Cain."

"I know," Kellyn said giving me a wink. "Good to see you again, Valkyrie."

I smiled back at him. "You to, Kellyn."

Jack looked between us. "Well, I see you two already know each other."

Leo stepped up and examined me closely. Then he perked up. "Hey, you look like that cat-lady!"

I frowned. "Who?"

"Are you talking about Blake?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, her" Leo confirmed. "The one reading that book last night."

"She didn't have cat ears, idiot," Kellyn said. "That was a bow."

Leo shrugged. "Whatever." Then he saw two girls walking down the slope. One of them was Yang and the other must have been that Blake girl. Leo pointed to Blake. "Hey, there she is!"

I looked at her and scoffed. "That's clearly a bow! Are you mental or something?"

Leo put his arms on his hips and puffed up his chest. "No, I'm just cool."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're too scrawny."

Leo shook his head and chuckled. "Oh man, the stories I could tell…look, scrawny is the new _HOT_!" he said, emphasizing hot.

"No it isn't. It's about as cool as my ex's hair."

"What did it look like?" Jack asked.

I smiled, remembering that memory. "Think porcupine road kill, and you got it." (Okdes's idea!)

Jack stared at me. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Dude," Kellyn said. "Your ex must have been crazy to have a hair like that."

I shook my head. "I keep telling him that, but he never listens." [I'm sorry Fletch, but it's true.]

Yang and Blake reached us. "Hey sis." Jack greeted. "Hi Blake."

"Hey Jack!" Yang greeted back.

Blake gave a simple nod before turning her attention to me. "You look just like me," she said. "Interesting." She then looked at the relics. "Chess pieces?" she asked.

"I know, right?" I said.

"Some of them are missing," Yang added.

"I just pointed that out before Leo and Kellyn showed up," Jack said.

"Well," I said, "I guess we should pick one."

"Agreed."

We walked around, looking for a piece that we wanted. "Hmm…" Yang thought. She snatched up a golden knight piece. "How 'bout a cute little pony?" Yang asked cheerfully. Aw…I wanted that one…

Blake rolled her eyes and smiled. "Sure."

I grabbed the nearest piece and looked at it. "What do you think about a black rook, Jack?"

"Fine by me," he replied. "As long as we finish initiation, I don't care what piece we get."

Kellyn looked at Leo and they nodded to each other. "If you're getting one of the black rook pieces,"—he grabbed the other black rook—"then I guess so are we." He flashed me a smile and I smirked back at him.

"Well, I guess that settles it!" Leo announced. He grinned mischievously. "You are now on Team Leo! Be prepared for Pranks Galore with me!"

"That wasn't too hard!" Yang remarked.

"Well," Blake ventured, "it's not like this place is very difficult to find."

Suddenly, a shriek pierced the air. I whipped my head around. "Some girl's in trouble!"

"Yeah. Either that, or it's Jaune," Leo said.

"That's mean," Kellyn chastised.

"Blake, did you hear that?" Yang asked, turning to her partner.

"What should we do?" Jack added.

But Blake wasn't paying attention. "Blake, did you hear that?" Yang asked again, waving at her. "What should we—" Blake pointed up. For a second, I thought I saw her bow twitch but before I could register that, a familiar voice boomed above us "HEADS UUUUUUUUPPP!"

**Me: BUM BUM BUUUUUM! Cliffie! But we all know what happens of course. Oh, and BTW, we have a special guest here today! Give a round of applause to Piper McLean!**

**Piper: Wow. You guys weren't kidding when you said that she likes to make a big deal out of little things.**

**Weiss: Yes, yes, I'm sure we all know now. Can we go now?**

**Me: Sure. You can leave. But I suggest you stay.**

**Blake: Why is that?**

**Me: Oh, let's just say that Piper, Valkyrie, and I have planned something…(grins mischievously)**

**Kellyn: Anyways, for those who don't know what'll happen next, well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to come out. So…yeah. Until next time!**

**Leo and Jack: (bursts into the room) WAS THIS REALLY NECESSARY?!**

**Everyone: (burst out laughing)**

**Me: (snickers) No, but I did it anyways. (throws hands in the air) I REGRET NOTHING!**

**Yang: Nice! (Fist-bumps me)**

**_Jack and Leo are dressed up in fluffy pink dresses, an assortment of jewelry, and a lot of makeup applied to their faces. They are handcuffed together._**

**Me: You were a big help Valkyrie, Piper. (gives them a high five)**

**Valkyrie and Piper: Anytime.**

**Jack: Why did you help her?**

**Piper: I wanted revenge. Remember that time when Leo ran up to me and Jason, screeched "WAZZUP LOVEBIRDS?" in our ears, and then had Jack drop cherry pie onto our heads? (disappears to a random portal that appeared)**

**Valkyrie: And remember those times when you two kept pranking Kellyn and me for a whole month straight? (sighs happily) Revenge sure is sweet.**

**Jack: (rubs his head sheepishly) Jeez, I've been hanging out with Leo too much.**

**Leo: Hey!**

**Me: All Piper, Valkyrie, and I had to do was use magic for the clothing, make up, and accessories. Val is really getting better in her magic studies and practices, by the way. Think of this as pay back for all those times you two annoyed and insulted me as well. (runs off with Valkyrie being chased by Leo and Jack)**

**Ruby: I guess we'll take over then. Please review! It will be a big help to Fate!**

**Weiss: Fate is still open for ideas.**

**Yang: She wants to hear all your suggestions, so feel free to put it in a review or PM it to her.**

**Blake: Fate may take another week to upload, so stay tuned until then.**

**Kellyn: Anyways, this was Moonwolf121—otherwise known as Fate—and Teams JVLN and RWBY along with special guest Piper McLean, howlin' you a godly time!**


	13. Players and Pieces

**A/N Hey guys, I just want to tell you that I have redone the chapter. I retyped it and made it better. I apologize for the sloppiness of the original one and I hope you will forgive me. This is no longer a General POV. Hope you enjoy this better than the first one.**

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Jack<span>_**

**_Somewhere, up in the sky…_**

_"RUBY!"_ The red and black haired girl opened her eyes to look at the furious heiress, Weiss Schnee. "I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!" The heiress had to screech to be heard over the roar of the wind.

"WE'RE FINE!" Ruby yelled back. "STOP WORRYING!"

"I AM_ SO_ FAR BEYOND WORYING!"

Ruby gave her a quizzical look. "IN A GOOD WAY?" she asked hopefully.

"IN A _BAD _WAY!" the Weiss shrieked. "IN A VERY. BAD. WAY."

Ruby was getting annoyed. "WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST _JUMP_?!"

"WHAT ARE YOU, INSANE?!" The heiress got no answer. She looked at where Ruby once was, only to find her missing. "OH, YOU _INSUFERABLE _LITTLE _BRAT_!"

**_On the ground..._**

"Blake, did you hear that?" asked Yang, waving her hand in front of Blake's face. "What should we—"

Blake pointed up at the sky. Suddenly, a frightened voice pierced the air. Yang, Leo, Kellyn, Valkyrie and I all looked up to see Ruby falling down and screaming. "HEADS UUUUUUUUUUUU—"

Ruby's own scream was cut off by another one. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" Suddenly, Jaune appeared, flying backwards. He slammed into Ruby, taking them both into the trees.

"WHOOO!" they both exclaimed as they hurtled to the trees.

We stared at the spot where Ruby and Jaune disappeared to. "Jack, Yang," Valkyrie began, "did your sister just fall from the sky?"

"Uh—" I started, but was cut off by a commotion and roar that came from the forest.

An Ursa barged out of the tree lines and flailed its arms wildly. It roared and thrashed around until a sudden flash of pink sparks on its back made it fall and go limp. "Yee haw!" a cheerful and care free voice called. A girl with orange hair and pink and white clothing rolled off the Ursa as it fell. She stood back up and frowned sadly. "Aw," she whined. "It's broken." She appeared on the top of its head. "Er…" she said.

A boy with long black hair with a pink highlight in it jumped off the Ursa and hunched over, panting. "Nora," he began, "please…don't ever do that again."

He looked up to see that Nora had disappeared. He snapped his head around and saw that Nora had zipped to the relics and was examining a golden rook piece.

"Oooooh," she wondered. She snatched it and made all kinds of strange poses.

Her fun was disrupted by a very angry sounding boy. "NORA!"

Nora giggled and gave a salute. "Coming Ren!" she said happily as she caught the rook that fell from her head. She skipped over to Ren.

Blake, Yang, Valkyrie, Leo, Kellyn and I stared at her. I had my mouth open, Valkyrie had her hand up pointing at the girl, Leo was rubbing his head, and Kellyn was just plain speechless. Blake's arms were crossed. "Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" she asked.

"I—" Yang started, but was interrupted by an inhumanly screech.

Pyrrha came running through the tree lines, sword in hand. She looked like she was being chased. Suddenly, the trees behind her flew back as a giant scorpion Grimm burst through the forest, right on Pyrrha's tail. It snapped its pincer-like mouth, ready for a snack. It swung its right claw at Pyrrha, but she dodged it by jumping. She rolled as she landed on the ground and kept running. "Jaune!" she called.

"Pyrrha!" I heard Jaune call. "Ruby!"

Yang and I heard movement behind us and we turned around. Ruby rolled to the ground and stood back up, dusting herself off. "Ruby?" Yang and I asked.

Ruby looked up and saw us. "Yang! Jack!" She threw her arms up for a hug and so did we. All three of us took a step near each other when suddenly Nora popped up in between us. "Nora!" she cheered.

"Gah!" We all stumbled back.

Meanwhile, the scorpion snapped its pincer-like jaws at Pyrrha.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Kellyn questioned.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Leo said, answering Kellyn's question and the previous two.

Yang suddenly growled. Her arms were shaking with frustration, "I can't take it anymore!" she burst out, the air around her literally lighting up in flames. Her usual lilac-colored eyes turned red. She flailed her arms about. "Could everyone just _CHILL OUT_ for _TWO SECONDS_ before something _CRAZY_ happens again?!"

Yang stopped and began to breathe heavily as Ren joined us, panting. Leo took out a small timer from his tool belt and set it for two seconds. It ticked for a moment before letting out a loud _ding!_ "Two seconds are up!" Leo announced happily.

"Really Leo?" Valkyrie asked.

"What?"

Ruby tapped on my arm. "Um…Jack? Yang?" She pointed upwards. Everyone looked to the sky to see poor Weiss hanging on the claw of a Nevermore. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" Weiss screeched loud enough for us to hear.

"I said jump!" Ruby called back.

"She's gonna fall," Leo said.

"She'll be fine," I replied. [What? You're still alive, aren't you Weiss?]

Weiss's grip slipped and she began to plummet to her death.

"She's falling," Ren stated.

I was just about to run up and try to catch her, when suddenly Jaune dived in the air to catch Weiss. Weiss landed in his arms. "Just dropping in?" Jaune said innocently.

Weiss still looked horrified and she stared below her. Jaune followed her eyes and came to the same realization she did. His eyes widened in fear. "Oh God," he whimpered. Weiss jumped into his arms Scooby-Doo-style and Jaune curled up his knees. They both blinked twice right before gravity did its magic and forced them to fall once again. "No!" Jaune wailed.

Kellyn shook his head, Leo laughed, and I slapped my hand to my face. Valkyrie crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Idiots," she muttered. "I'm surrounded by bloody idiots."

"Welcome to my world," I mumbled.

Jaune landed face-flat on the ground. He broke Weiss's fall as she dropped onto him. He grunted in pain of the impact. Weiss looked at her nails. "My hero," she said sarcastically.

"My back," Jaune managed as he lifted his arm weakly.

Pyrrha dived on the ground in front of us. "Great!" Leo said dryly. "The gang's all here. Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it," Ruby said bravely. Uh- oh, I thought. Ruby sprinted towards the Deathstalker, letting out a battle cry.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang and I exclaimed as Pyrrha got to her feet.

Ruby brought out her scythe and used the recoil of a shotgun round to propel her forward. She brought her scythe up as she reached the Deathstalker, but the monster deflected the hit by hitting her with its pincers. Ruby landed on the ground and got back up. "Do—don't worry!" she assured us. "Totally fine!" I saw the Deathstalker behind her. Totally _not_ fine!

Ruby heard the sound of the Grimm moving forward and she slowly turned around. She saw the Deathstalker right behind her and she shot a bullet at it. The bullet could not penetrate the monster's rock hard armor, so she ran for her life, the Grimm right on her tail. She put Crescent Rose away so she could run faster.

Yang and I both surged forward to Ruby. "Ruby!" we yelled.

Ruby looked back to see the Nevermore flying above her. It let out a screech and yanked its wings down at Ruby. Suddenly, a barrage of giant feathers rained down to the ground. One of them caught Ruby's hood and pinned her to the spot. Ruby grunted in surprise as she was suddenly pulled back.

Yang and I skidded to a halt and landed on our butts to prevent ourselves from getting skewered by feathers. We saw Ruby struggling with her cape. "Ruby, get out of there!" we cried.

"I'm trying!" Ruby wailed. The Deathstalker reached Ruby and raised its tail.

Crap, I'll never make it in time! I thought grimly. Ruby stopped and stared at the tail that would take her life. The tail moved down. I heard Khalix laughing inside my head.

"Ruby!" Yang and I shrieked. Suddenly, a pale figure blurred past us.

Ruby closed her eyes and covered her head with her hands. Just then, Weiss was in front of her. She stabbed her rapier in the ground and a wall of ice sprouted up from the Glyph that appeared in the ground. "You are so childish," she said to Ruby. They were close enough for me to hear.

Ruby opened her eyes. "Weiss?" she asked in a small voice. She looked up to see Weiss holding her rapier in the ground, her glyph flashing and the Deathstalker's tail trapped in ice.

"And dimwitted," Weiss continued as she pulled Myrtenaster out, "and hyperactive. And don't even get me started on your fighting style," she added with a gesture with her hands. Then a look of uncertainty flashed in her eyes as she looked away. "And I suppose I could be a bit…" she looked at Ruby. "…difficult," she finished with a roll of her eyes. "But if we're going to do this"—she leaned in to meet Ruby's eyes—"we're going to have to do it together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be…"—she stood back up straight as she looked for the correct word—"…nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off," Ruby corrected. "I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine." Weiss walked off.

Ruby sighed in relief as she brought her hands together. "Normal knees," she whispered. She got up and looked at the other side of the ice wall that Weiss created. She gasped as she saw how close she was to the monster that almost took her life.

Yang and I got up and ran to our sister. As she turned around, we met her with a he bear hug. She let out a little puff as we squeezed the life out of her.

Yang and I finally let go and looked Ruby over. "We're so happy you're okay!" Yang squealed.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" I asked, very worried.

"I'm fine," Ruby replied. We heard another screech and looked up to see the Nevermore circling above. The three of us ran back to the others.

"Guys that thing is circling back!" I announced as we neared the group.

"What are we gonna do?" Jaune fretted.

Weiss stepped up. "Look, there's no sense in dilly dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." She gestured to the chess pieces.

"She's right," Ruby agreed. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs." Weiss gave her an approving nod and Ruby answered with a nod of her own.

"There's no sense in fighting these things," Valkyrie added.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Run and live," Kellyn summed up.

"Now _that_ is an idea I can get behind," Leo said, pointing to himself.

Ruby and Jaune walked up to the relics to get their pieces. Ruby got the last white horse and Jaune went for the other white rook. They examined their pieces and smiled at each other.

Suddenly, the Deathstalker growled and tugged on its trapped tail. The ice holding it began to crack.

"Time we left," Ren announced.

"Right," I said, taking charge.

"Let's go," Ruby added with a gesture. We ran up the hill and the others followed.

Ruby and I stopped on the top of a rock and looked back. Everyone was following us except for Blake and Yang. "C'mon!" I called. "We need to hurry!" Yang spoke a few words to Blake then shrugged and followed the group. Blake trailed behind.

The twelve of us ran as we entered a clearing in front of the cliff, the Nevermore flying ahead. Each pair hid behind a column as the Nevermore perched on the top of the tower and let out an inhumanly screech. But that wasn't all. In the middle of the tower was another Grimm. It was a giant dog with three heads. The one on the left had spikes on its neck. The one on the right had stony armor. The middle had both. Its tail was scaly green, like a serpent. The masks that cover its faces glowed with a red light. It laid there like it was waiting for its prey to come…which it most likely will.

"What is that?" Yang asked.

"It's a Cyberbeast," Kellyn replied. "It's one of the most dangerous Grimms. Be careful."

"Well that's great!" Valkyrie grumbled sarcastically beside me. "That's exactly what we need: another hard to kill Grimm!"

Suddenly, a commotion in the forest drew our attention. The Deathstalker burst through, clearly agitated.

"Aw man, run!" Jaune yelled. Everyone bolted out of their hiding areas and made a run for the tower. The Nevermore screeched again and flew up.

"Nora, distract it!" Ren commanded.

"You too Leo!" Kellyn said.

Nora and Leo took off as they pulled out their weapons. They both dodged a barrage of feathers. Nora took out her grenade launcher and fired multiple shots at the Grimm, each one sending out a storm of sparks as they exploded.

Leo spun his war hammer and it began to transform into a rocket launcher. He loaded the rocket on and pulled the trigger. The rocket shot out and exploded as it hit the Nevermore. He fired again and again.

The Deathstalker came up behind them and Ren and Blake sliced at the Grimm with their blades. Weiss jumped in and dragged Leo and Nora out of harm's way.

We all began to run across the stone bridge. Pyrrha looked behind her and saw the Deathstalker following. "Go!" she commanded as she took out her sword and shield. "Go!" The sword turned into her rifle and she shot round after round at the Deathstalker. The rest of us ran past her. Ren and Leo skidded to a halt next to her and shot at the monster as well. Blake jumped and landed on the bridge just as the Grimm swung its claw at her. She, Pyrrha, Leo, and Ren ran across the bridge to join the others.

As we were running, the Nevermore charged at the bridge and tackled it, breaking it and separating Ren, Pyrrha, and Blake from us, who reached the other side.

Jaune looked at the other side and saw his friends trying to beat the Deathstalker. "Man, we've gotta get over there!" he said as Nora stood beside him. "They need help!"

"Let's do this!" Nora agreed.

Jaune looked at the wide gap in front of him. "Yeah, but…I can't make that jump!"

Nora looked at Jaune and gave him a crooked grin. She giggled as she pushed him on the ground with her weapon. She twirled it and it changed into a hammer. She jumped in the air and twisted, raising the hammer above her head to smash it on the unstable ground.

Jaune, realizing what she was going to do, called out, "No wait—" Nora smashed the hammer to the ground and Jaune flew into the air. "No no no no!" he shrieked. Nora stepped on her hammer and pulled the trigger, using the recoil to propel her forward. As Jaune fell to the ground, Nora smashed her hammer on to the Deathstalker's head.

"Jack!" I turned to Valkyrie as she called my name. She stood with Kellyn and Leo. The others were climbing to the roof of the tower. "We need to deal with the Nevermore," she said

"But what about them?" I asked, gesturing to the others with the Deathstalker.

"They'll be fine," Kellyn assured. "But we need to stop the Nevermore."

I nodded. Then I frowned. "Wait, what about the Cyberbeast?" It took them five whole seconds to realize what was going on. They all cursed. I stared at them. "Well, shi—"

I felt a buzzing in my head. Suddenly, I was interrupted when the Cyberbeast appeared out of nowhere and slashed its tail at us, knocking us back.

"The hell?" Valkyrie exclaimed.

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo said, "where did _that_ come from?"

The Cyberbeast snarled, slobber dripping out of its three mouths. Its eyes bore into me. It looked like it was about to charge. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Nevermore _flying straight at us._

"Duck!" I roared. We all pressed ourselves against the ground as the Nevermore smashed against the building. Giant pieces of rubble began to fall. One of them almost hit me, but I rolled out of the way. The Cyberbeast wasn't so lucky. I was also aware of gun shots ringing out.

"Move move move!" I called. We leaped up and darted around, dodging out of the way of falling rubble. We hid behind columns that still stood.

"Okay," I began. "Anyone got information about the Cyberbeast?"

Leo and Valkyrie shrugged helplessly. But Kellyn stepped up. "Tons," he said. "The Cyberbeasts were failed scientific experiments. Scientists were studying another species of Grimm known as Death-hounds. They were trying to improve it while also trying to find ways to control it in hopes of finally stopping the Grimm. They improved it, but they didn't control it. They made thousands of them, but they couldn't control them. Their experiments became known as Project Cyberbeast. They—"

He faltered as he noticed Leo pretending to write something down. "Oh, please, keep going, Professor Nyrel!" he said. "I want to get an A+ on the 'Completely Useless Information' test!"

Valkyrie smacked him upside the head. "Quiet, Valdez."

"Cut to the chase, Kellyn," I told him.

Kellyn sighed. "The Cyberbeasts escaped and now roam the wild. They have a total of three heads, each one representing skill in combat. The left one represents attack, the right one is defense, and the middle one is stamina. It has a serpent's tail. One of the factors that make it hard to kill is the fact that it can turn invisible for a short amount of time."

"That's why it disappeared," Valkyrie realized.

Kellyn nodded. Then he seemed to remember something. "Oh, and because of the many experiments performed on it, it is part machine."

His eyes flickered towards me, as if he knew of my powers. But he looked away so quickly that I thought that I must have imagined it. But I knew what I was going to do.

I risked a look at the beast. It was snapping its heads around, looking for us. Without taking my eyes off it, I asked Kellyn a question. "How do you kill it?"

"Easy; you have to cut off all three heads." Then he hesitated. "Well, not easy. The easiest to cut is the attack head, the one with the spikes." He gestured to the one on the left. "It only has spikes on its neck, and there are gaps in between each spike where you can slip a blade through. The armor head is the second easiest. But the armor protecting its neck is too hard. It would take fire to get past it. The stamina head is the hardest. You can burn off its armor as well, but if you aren't quick enough, it will regenerate. The only way to stop the regeneration is to shock it with a large current of electricity that will paralyze it. If you can do all that, you can kill it. But getting close enough to it without getting killed? …Well, that's another matter."

"Hey Leo, Kellyn, what's your semblances?"

Leo looked at me for a moment. "Fire," he replied.

"Electricity," Kellyn answered.

"I know what you're thinking, Blank," Leo said. "And I don't like it. Not one bit. We can't possibly beat it. It might turn invisible and attack us from behind. We can't stop it."

"I can do it," I said.

"Don't be stupid," Valkyrie chided. "You can't possibly get near that thing without getting torn to bits!"

"I can't,"—I looked towards her—"but you can."

She looked at me like I was a lunatic, which I probably was right now. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. Look, my semblance is the power to control machines. According to Kellyn's information, Cyberbeast is a machine. I might be able to stop it from disappearing—"

"'_Might_'?"

"—and stop it from moving. When it does stop, you guys run after it. Valkyrie, you use your sword and cut off the attack head. Leo, go to the defense head and burn off the armor. Kellyn, you decapitate that one. Once that is done, you will shock it. Valkyrie, you should use your stun baton to give it an extra boost, just to make sure. Then, you and Leo will burn off the armor. And finally,"—I jerked a thumb at myself—"I'll swoop in with Sea Serpent here and finish the job." I looked at their eyes in turn. "Sound good?"

They took a while, and I began to worry that they would disagree. Then, slowly, a smile appeared on each of their faces. "Sounds like a plan, captain," Valkyrie teased.

"A plan that might actually work," Leo added.

"Give us the signal, and we'll charge in," Kellyn said.

I took a deep breath and looked back at the Cyberbeast. It was prowling around the middle of the temple, looking for us. I stretched my hand out. I heard a voice whisper in my head: _You'll fail. You're gonna kill them all._ Khalix. Seems like the guy never gives up. I toned him out and concentrated on the Cyberbeast. I heard a ringing in my ears. I saw the monster's machinery and tech. I summoned all of my will and forced its legs and body to stop moving. It did.

"Now!" I yelled over my shoulder. Valkyrie was the first to react. She whipped out her weapon and unsheathed her sword. She sprinted towards the attack head. I couldn't control the entire beast, so the attack head whipped around. Just as Valkyrie came close, it smashed its head on to her, knocking her to the side. But Valkyrie was quick to respond. She leaped back up and used the air to propel her forward. She let out a battle cry as she raised the sword above the beast's first head. She brought it down onto the space between two spikes. Before I knew it, the head was rolling on the ground, already disintegrating into violet petals.

Kellyn and Leo also fell into step behind her. Leo dived to the neck of the defense head. It thrashed around, trying to get him off. But Leo held on like a bull rider. He wrapped his legs around its neck. Fire caught on his hands and he set the armor ablaze. The armored head howled in pain as the armor melted. Leo flung himself off as Kellyn produced a blue aura sword and cut off the head.

Two down, one to go.

I was straining to keep the Cyberbeast secure. The effort was taking a lot of strength out of me. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead as my breathing became harder. This was draining a lot of energy out of me. But it wasn't just that. It was the fact that Khalix was also trying to distract me. _It won't work_, Khalix murmured in my head. _They'll all die a painful death_.

Shut up shut up shut up.

"Hurry!" I managed.

They turned to look at me and saw the difficult time I was having. They nodded in understanding.

The final head howled and snapped its jaws, splaying slobber everywhere. Valkyrie sheathed her sword and it was once again a stun baton. She and Kellyn surged forward. She smacked the stun baton as hard as she could on the skin of the Cyberbeast. Kellyn pressed his hand on it and a jolt of sparks ran through the beast's body. It was completely paralyzed.

Then, Valkyrie clicked her fingers and conjured a fire in her hands. Leo did the same. They pressed their palms against the armor, burning it. They had burned a gap where I could finish it off. They stepped aside for me.

Finally, I stopped containing it. It was already stunned, so I didn't need to hold it in place anymore. I slipped Sea Serpent off my back and charged at the final head. I let out a battle cry as I jumped up to stab the head. The Cyberbeast snarled in return. I moved downwards and stabbed the blades on the open area of the neck. The Grimm's snarl turned into a whimper. I pulled the trigger on my trident. A shotgun round burst through the end of the hilt, digging the blades deeper into the Cyberbeast's neck until I finally decapitated it. The body grew limp as it fell to the ground, dissolving into green data bytes.

I stayed in the same position as I tried to catch my breath. I was kneeling on one knee and my left hand rested on the other knee. My right hand held the trident as I tried to control my breathing and heartbeat. A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

I gasped one last time before getting back up. I wiped my brow as I looked at Valkyrie, Kellyn and Leo. They all looked at me with a mixture of amazement and respect.

Valkyrie gave me a rough pat on the back. "Good job, partner," she said.

"Well," Leo began as he stretched, "that couldn't have gone any better!"

"You look exhausted, kid," Kellyn observed.

"Yeah," I replied as I took a shaky breath. "Trying to control something that isn't fully a machine for that long is really hard." I told them the half-truth. Khalix was still whispering in my head, but I used the last of my strength to shut him out.

Kellyn slung my arm over his shoulder and helped me walk as we joined Yang, Weiss, and Blake, who were staring up at Ruby at the top of the cliff. It seemed like they had dealt with the Nevermore quite smoothly.

I looked back at the other side of the bridge where Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren stood, staring at us in awe.

"Well," Yang said, drawing my attention. "That was a thing."

* * *

><p>"Russel Thrush," Professor Ozpin said as four new students stepped onstage. "Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark." We were in the auditorium where the ceremony for those who passed initiation took place. My sisters and new friends stood next to me as we waited for our turn. I'm pretty sure that I had an excellent poker face, but inside I was jumping for joy.<p>

Professor Ozpin looked at the four teens that stood in front of him, prim and proper. "The four of you have retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as"—the four boys faces appeared on the screen above Professor Ozpin with the letters CRDL below them—"Team Cardinal. Led by Cardin Winchester."

A round of applause filled the room as the newly formed team stepped off stage and a new one took their place. This one contained four Faunus girls. "Eroe Della-Luce Estiva," Prof. Ozpin began again, "Momoiro Tatsumaki, Brooke Dimitri, and Rabe Schwarz," Professor Ozpin announced. The girl's faces appeared on the screen. Eroe was a lion Faunus, Momoiro was a bunny Faunus, Brook had the traits of a turtle, and Rabe had both the ears and the tail of a wolf.

"The four of you retrieved the Black Knight pieces," Professor Ozpin said. "From this day forward you will work together as Team Ember." The letters appeared on the monitor as EMBR. "Led by Eroe Della-Luce Estiva." The girl known as Eroe removed her fedora and gave a small bow of respect. Her lion ears and tail twitched. They walked off stage as the crowd clapped.

As the girls left the stage, Rabe stole a glance at Blake. She twitched her wolf ears and sniffed before walking off with her team. What that was about?

I decided to let it go as I nudged Jaune. "You're up," I whispered. Valkyrie gave him a wink and Leo showed off a crooked grin.

"Good luck," Kellyn said. Jaune took a gulp and walked onstage along with Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren.

"Jaune Arc," the Professor greeted as their faces appeared on the screen, "Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Juniper." The letters JNPR spun into view on the monitor. Nora squealed with delight and hugged Ren. "Led by," Professor continued, "Jaune Arc!" Knew it. [What? I did!]

Jaune looked at Prof. Ozpin in surprise and pointed at himself. "Huh? L—led by?"

Pyrrha smiled brightly at him.

"Congratulations young man," Ozpin murmured.

Pyrrha punched Jaune's arm—a little too hard. "Whoa!" Jaune fell back and an eruption of laughter was heard.

Pyrrha smiled sheepishly as she helped Jaune up and walk down the stage.

"Welcome, Team JNPR!" Kellyn greeted with a smile as they met them off stage.

"Congratulations, Jaune," Leo said.

I also congratulated him. Then I turned to Ruby. "You're up next, sis," I said to my little sister, pushing her towards the stage along with Yang, Blake, and Weiss.

"Blake Belladonna," Ozpin said, "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Ruby." Their names and pictures appeared with RWBY under it.

"Hey, Ruby got her team named after her!" Valkyrie said with a smile.

"Led by Ruby Rose."

"And she's their leader!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang squealed as she threw her arms around Ruby.

I clapped hard and gave a whistle. "Alright Ruby!" I cheered.

Valkyrie prodded my arm. "We're up next!" She was trying to hide it, but there was a glint of excitement in her eyes. She, Leo, Kellyn, and I walked up on stage, hands behind our backs and standing tall.

"And finally," Professor Ozpin said, getting to the last ceremony of the night. "Jack Blank, Leo Valdez, Valkyrie Cain, and Kellyn Nyrel. The four of you have retrieved the Black Rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Javelin." Our faces appeared on screen and below them was JVLN.

"Led by…" What he said next took me by surprise. "Jack Blank."

My eyes widened in surprise. I expected Valkyrie or Kellyn to be leader, not me. After all, Valkyrie was brave and strong and Kellyn was smart and tactful.

Valkyrie gave me a hard pat on the back, which caused me to grimace. "Good for you kid," Valkyrie congratulated with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You're gonna do great!" Leo assured with a thumbs up.

"Lead us well," Kellyn replied.

I looked at each of their faces and saw no jealousy, no resentment. All I saw was kindness and support. I heard my name and looked back to see my adoption sisters jumping up and down, smiling like crazy. I saw my new friends and looked around me at my new home. Now, I knew that with these people to support me, I could do anything.

Professor Ozpin gave one last sentence before ending the ceremony and assigning us our dorms. "Looks like things are shaping up to be an…interesting year."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Fate<span>_**

I watched as initiation ended. I saw Team JVLN walk off the stage. Ruby and Yang had enveloped Jack in a tight bear hug. I smiled. Everything was coming along perfectly. My attention shifted to three other teams, CRDL, JNPR, and EMBR. I thought of their interactions with the other two teams. Hmm…

I moved my fingers in the air. To most people, this movement would just seem like I had a bad case of ADHD. But to those who knew my true identity, they would know that I was making plans for the future.

JNPR is already friends with RWBY and JVLN, so I guess I will keep it that way. But I also planned some excitement in their future. They won't just be some ordinary bystanders.

EMBR will surely meet JVLN and RWBY. That faunus team has a lot of potential. Plus, they've got a lot in store for Blake…

CRDL would be the bullies of the school. There can't be a school without a group of bullies. I decided that Mr. Winchester will target Jaune. Jaune needs something that will give him the strength to improve and become the hero that he always wanted to be.

Yes, and I have special plans for RWBY and JVLN. In fact, their next conflict will happen tomorrow. And the next day. Oh, and the secrets that they are hiding! I do love a good story. The secrets and the betrayals. The hardships and the heartaches. The love and the hate. And most importantly, the trust, happiness, friendship, hope and loyalty that they have for one another. So wonderful!

I giggled as I planned out their future. My hands and fingers moved energetically through the air. Oh, how fun this will be…

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Finished! Initiation is finally over!<strong>

**Jack: Yeah...but what exactly are you planning for us?**

**Valkyrie: I'd like to know that as well.**

**Me: (giggles) You'll see. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, Khalix is the Rüstov parasite/prince inside of Jack. I suppose you could say that he is just like Darquesse.**

**Leo: Yeah. And it's very disturbing to know that your best friends are two people with evil beings inside them that might take control of them and rule the world.**

**Kellyn: Yeah, especially if one of them is your—**

**Me: (slaps my hand over his mouth) Sshhh! No spoilers!**

**Kellyn: (makes muffled noises that are signs of protest)**

**Me: So, yeah. Tune in next time for the next chapter! This is Moonwolf121 and Team JVLN here, howlin' you a godly time~**


	14. Classes and Complications

**_Classes and Complications_**

**_Valkyrie_**

_I awoke to the muffled sound of a whistle being blown_. My eyes fluttered open. "Whu?"

Suddenly, the sound of a blow horn blasted my ears. "HOLY SHI—" My own curse was interrupted by Kellyn's even louder one. I shot out of bed and fell face first on to the floor. I leaped back up to see Leo holding a blow horn and smiling like crazy.

After initiation, we were assigned our dorm room. Each member of the same team had to sleep in the same room together, even if there was someone of opposite gender.

"Rise and shine, sleepy heads!" Leo announce cheerfully. "It's morning!" He noticed Jack still sleeping peacefully in his bed. His grin grew even wider. He went up to Jack and blew the horn as loud as he could.

Jack's eyes sprang open as he jolted out of his sleep. He jerked up so quickly that his head hit his bed post with a loud _thunk!_ "The hell?!" he groaned as he held his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Leo laughing. "Damn it Leo!"

"Ha!" Leo snorted. "You should've seen the look on your face!" He laughed even more.

"Ass hole," Jack muttered.

I grew angrier by the second. "Valdez, I swear, when I'm through with you you're gonna—"

Kellyn cleared his throat. "You mind telling us why you did that?" he interrupted.

Leo's laughter slowly subsided. He cleared his throat. "Well, I was thinking that we should start unpacking," he suggested.

Jack sighed. "Fine. Let's unpack."

"But first," Kellyn said, "I think we should change into our uniforms."

"Yeah," Jack agreed.

I got up and brought out my new school uniform. I then walked out of the dorms to the bathroom and changed. I wore a brown blazer over a tan vest and white shirt. I scowled as I realized that I had to wear a red plaid skirt. I reluctantly slipped it on over long stockings. I headed out of the bathroom and walked into my dorm room.

The boys had changed into their uniforms as well. They wore black suits lined with gold trimming. Underneath the black blazer was a blue vest, a white shirt, and a red tie. Leo had his additional tool belt on. Jack kept the handkerchief hanging from his pocket. I took notice of the initials T.R. on it.

Jack tugged on the sleeves of his suit uncomfortably. "I hate uniforms," he stated.

"You and me both," I muttered.

"Well, let's start unpacking."

I slipped my suitcase out from under my bed and opened it. The others did the same. I didn't have many possessions, just a few personal belongings. I took out a few books and stacked them on the shelf above my desk, which was provided to me by Beacon. I also took out a laptop that I had recently bought and set it on the desk. I set out a few trinkets as well. I placed some clothing into my drawers.

Finally, I took out a picture that I always cherished and placed it on the table next to my bed. It was a picture of me, my mum and dad, and my little sister Alice. We stood in front of our house in Haggard in Ireland. It was during the day of my birthday…the last one I spent with them.

"That your family?" I turned around and saw Jack standing behind me, looking at the picture.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Where was that picture taken?"

"At my house."

"Where did you live?"

"None of your business!" I snapped. I felt a bit bad, but it was a touchy subject for me.

Jack looked momentarily hurt before turning away. "Sorry. I get it if this is a sensitive story for you." He then walked away to unpack.

I sighed. Not off to a good start today. I looked around the room.

Leo had set up a workbench next to his desk and has stocked it up with all kinds of screws, gears, and machines. Next to that was a bin filled with blueprints and plans. On his desk were even more papers and a picture of him with eight other people. His shelf was stacked with books about engineering and machines. He had also taped up a blueprint of a flying ship with a dragon figurehead. The words _The Argo II_ were scribbled on the top.

Kellyn didn't have much either, just a few books and a picture of him with two adults, a girl his age with spiky pig tails, and a little girl sitting on his shoulders.

Jack had a stack of comic books and drawing pads. A lot of them seemed old and worn down. He had other things, but nothing interesting. He had a few pictures, though. The first one I noticed was one with him, Yang, Ruby, and a man. The next one was of him with a different man from the one on the first picture.

I glanced at Jack. He was arranging his comic books. I walked over to the picture and examined it closely. The man was tall with a lean, muscular build. He had short black hair and a few days' worth of stubble. His arm was slung around Jack's shoulders, and he and Jack were smiling happily. He looked nothing like the man in the other picture, whom I assumed was his father.

"That's my dad."

I was startled by Jack's presence that I accidentally dropped the picture, but Jack caught it just in time. He straightened and looked at the picture with a longing look in his eyes.

Leo and Kellyn walked over to examine the picture. "He doesn't look that much like you," Leo commented.

"I got my eyes from my mom and blond hair from the other members of my dad's family," he explained without taking his eyes of the picture. "This was taken a year ago."

I frowned. "But aren't you Ruby and Yang's brother? He looks completely different from the guy in the picture with you and your sisters."

Leo cringed and a dark look spread across Jack's face. "They're not my biological sisters," he said quietly. "I'm they're adopted brother."

I suddenly felt really bad.

"My mom died soon after I was born," he continued, "and an accident occurred after I met my dad a year ago. Ruby's parents took me in afterwards and I had a full family. But I always wondered what it would be like to be a family with my real mother and father. I keep this photo to remind me of my father." He took out the handkerchief that was hanging in his pocket and stared at the two letters on it. "And I keep my mother's handkerchief so I will have at least one thing from her."

We stood there in a long silence. "You know," I said softly, "you didn't have to tell us that."

He took a deep breath and exhaled before turning to me and smiling. "I know, but we're a team now. I trust you all." He turned around and clapped his hands together. "Well! Are we all done unpacking? Yes? Good. Now let's get on with our classes."

He took out a big book and flipped through some pages. I could tell that he was trying to change the subject. I did that all the time when it came to my family. "We've got a few classes together today," Jack announced. "At 9 we have to be at Grimm Studies with Professor Peter Port." He continued to name off our schedule until he reached the final class of the day.

"Okay!" he said, slamming the book shut. "Let's go team JVLN! Valkyrie, Leo Kellyn, and their handsome and super cool leader Jack are ready to start training!"

Kellyn raised an eyebrow. "'Handsome and super cool'?" he asked as Jack began slipping on his shoes.

"More like super lame," Leo snorted.

"I don't have to stand here and be insulted!" Jack protested, throwing his hands in the air and walking out of the room. We quickly put on our shoes and followed. We walked through the dorm room halls and went out into the courtyard. Other students were making their way to class as well. We walked around until we finally came to the Grimm Studies class.

Each of us took a seat in the second row. Kellyn sat to my right and Jack sat on my left. Leo was seated on the other side of Kellyn.

I looked around, trying to find teams RWBY and JNPR. Jack had mentioned that we would be taking this class with them. But I couldn't find them. "Jack?" I asked him. His arms were crossed and he was leaning back with his legs on the table top. He turned his head a fraction to me.

"Mm?" he asked.

"Where are Team RWBY and JNPR?"

He seemed to notice that they were absent as well. "Huh," he said as he began to scratch his head. "Funny. I could've sworn that they were awake when I checked up on them."

Suddenly, the doors burst open and teams RWBY and JNPR burst inside. They looked like they had just run a mile. "Well, well, well," Jack cooed.

"Look who finally made it!" Leo added.

"Shut up," Weiss grumbled as she took her seat in the row in front of me.

The bell rang and an elderly man probably in about his mid-fifties strode into the class. He was round and had a slick, gray mustache and hair. He wore a burgundy suit that had gold trimmings with gold buttons running down the collar and by the wrists.

"Good morning, students!" he greeted. "My name is Professor Peter Port, and I will be your teacher for the studies of the treacherous demons known as Grimm!"

He paced around the room and began to give a speech about the Grimm. "Monsters!" he boomed. "Demons! Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names."

Ruby was already asleep. Weiss was taking notes, but I had no idea what she could possibly take notes about. Blake and Yang were just staring at the teacher with a bored expression. Same went for my team.

"But I," Prof. Port droned on, "merely refer to them as prey." He gave a "Huzza!" and a swing of his arms, but no one found it funny.

Then Leo began to clap slowly. "Wonderful joke!" he slurred sarcastically.

Prof. Port nodded. "That will be extra readings for you, Mr. Valdez," he informed Leo.

Leo sulked. "That's jacked up," he muttered to quiet for the teacher to hear.

The Professor cleared his throat. "And you shall call them that too upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying; Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in. Huntsmen!" He looked directly at Yang. "Huntresses." He winked at her.

Yang looked away and chuckled nervously.

Kellyn leaned in on me. "Remind me to add 'creepy old man teacher' right above 'boring old guy' to Prof. Port's list of titles," he whispered. I chuckled quietly. He smiled.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves!" Prof. Port continued. He paused. "From what you ask?" he said as if he was repeating something we said.

"We didn't ask anything," I mumbled.

"Why, the very world!" he ranted on, throwing a finger in the air, his belly shaking up and down.

It was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a kid stood up and pumped his fist in the air. "Ay-yeah!" he cheered. He looked around him for a moment as he realized that no one was going to answer him.

"Who the hell would cheer for that?" I heard the Faunus girl—Rabe Schwarz— mutter. The girl next to her—Eroe—elbowed Rabe as the boy sank back down in his seat, embarrassed.

"That is what you are training to become," the professor continued. "But first, a story"—he made a sweeping gesture with his hands—"A tale of a young, handsome man." He paused. Wait for it, I thought. "Me." Knew it. [What? There was really no surprise there.]

"When I was a boy…" The professor continued his story, but all I heard was gibberish. I sighed and looked at the posters on the walls. They each were a variety of Grimm monsters: Beowolves, Ursai, Boarbatusks, Nevermores, Death Stalkers, King Taijitus, and other Grimms. There were notes on each poster.

I got bored and began drawing on my paper. At first, I was just drawing a few Grimm. Then I was drawing myself fighting these Grimm alongside Skulduggery. I also drew Tanith without the Remnant in her, her swords unsheathed, and there was also Ghastly—who I so desperately wished was still alive—in a fighting stance. I drew China and her symbols, and before I knew it, I had drawn the whole gang and all of the Dead Men.

But my hand didn't stop. I kept drawing, and above the Grimm was Jack holding his trident above his head. Leo was poised with his hammer in the air and his left arm outstretched, and Kellyn was right in front of me, his aura shields protecting me from an attack of a Grimm. I drew smoke and dust. I drew shadows and dark figures of other Grimm. And I drew…Darquesse.

My pencil snapped. I just stared at the picture. Blood…blood covered all of our faces. Darquesse was there, and so was Lord Vile. But…there also were others that I didn't recognize. There was a woman with earthen-like clothing. Strangely, her eyes were closed, but her smile told the whole evil-story. There was a man with his hair curled up in a strange way, and he was wearing some kind of super-villain outfit. The strangest one of all was the boy who looked exactly like Jack. The only difference was the evil look on his face and the mark around his right eye was darker than Jack's.

I blinked a couple of times. I didn't remember being so good at drawing. The picture I created looked so real that I wondered if I had actually drawn it. Then a thought suddenly appeared in my mind. Was this a drawing of the future? I dismissed the idea and silently scoffed. Yeah, right. I'm just being paranoid. I noticed there were other people. I looked closer and I saw—

"What's that?"

I jumped a little and covered my arms over the paper. I looked up to see Kellyn looking at the spot where my arms now laid. "Nothing," I muttered. I folded the paper and slipped it into my pocket. I would deal with it later.

"Despite smelling of cabbages," the Professor was saying. Really, I thought. "My grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter,' he told me…"

He instantly switched back to gibberish. Jack looked to us. He put up his hand, went cross-eyed, and did little talking motions. "Blah, blah, blah," he mimicked. Leo chuckled and I snickered. Kellyn raised an eyebrow, but smiled nonetheless. Yang and Ruby began snickering and giggling over something while Weiss looked like she was going to blow a gasket. Suddenly, the Professor cleared his throat and waited for us to settle down.

"In the end," he continued, "the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity. And I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero." He gave a deep bow with an outward sweeping gesture of his hand. He stood back up.

"The moral of the story: a true Huntsman must be honorable." Ruby balanced a book and apple on her pencil. Weiss was glaring at her and looked like she was ready to explode.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable." Ruby began to snore.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, worldly, and wise." Ruby was picking her nose now.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

My arm shot up. I had no idea how it happened. I felt as if someone had just grabbed it and yanked it up. My hand wasn't the only one raised, though. Weiss and Rabe's hands were up as well.

"I do, sir!" Weiss announced with a strained voice.

"Well then," the Professor said. "Let's find out." He gestured to three cages that contained one Grimm each. "Step forward, you three, and face your opponents."

**Me: Done! I have finished this chapter! Oh, and for those of you who don't know, I have edited the last chapter and made it better. Anyways, I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait and short chapter! I've just been so busy with school and other activities.**

**Jack: Well at least the chapter's up now.**

**Me: Thanks Jack. I appreciate the support. Unlike ****_SOMEONE_** **who feels the need to insult my speed. (looks directly at Leo)**

**Leo: (Looks innocent) What did I do to make you angry, oh great one who always gets us into some big mess?**

**Kellyn: Can't you go one day without insulting her?**

**Leo: Nope!**

**Valkyrie: (rolls eyes) Anyways, what have you got in store for us this time?**

**Me: You'll see.**

**Jack: I hate it when you say that. It always means that we're about to get into a whole lot of trouble.**

**Valkyrie: By the way, was it you who made me raise my arm, Fate?**

**Me: (looks away and giggles) That's for me to know, and for you to find out!**

**Valkyrie: (sighs) Figured.**

**Me: Anyways, this is Moonwolf121 and Team JVLN here, howlin' you a godly time~**


	15. Classes and Complications Part 2

**Classes and Complications Part 2**

**_Valkyrie_**

_We had changed into our combat clothing._ I wore my usual black jacket with blood-red sleeves, silver tunic, black jeans, and black combat boots. My necromancer ring clung to my finger, still as cold as always. Memories of Bone was attached to my back.

Weiss wore her white clothing; white boots, white jacket with her emblem, and her white dress [sorry, _combat skirt_].

Rabe wore a black shirt with short, tattered sleeves. The bottom of it slanted downwards to the left side of her waist. She had black fingerless gloves that went up to below her elbow. I noticed the symbol of a moon with wings on the back of each glove. A small, dark purple scarf wrapped around Rabe's neck. Clinging to her waist and blue jeans were two crooked belts with a sword holster for each. Silver armor was attached to the top of her ankles to the bottom of her knees. A wolf claw dangled on her necklace.

I guess since I'm describing her outfit, I guess I should describe her features as well. She had ghostly-white skin and cobalt-blue eyes. Her raven-black hair was messy and cut unevenly. She was at an average height and looked pretty fit. Her black wolf tail swished back and forth. A wolf fang jutted out of her mouth, and I took notice of one scar trailing across her right eye, and another one going straight down the same eye. If that wasn't enough to tell you she lived a hard life, then you should also know that bits of her wolf ears were torn off. The top of her right arm was bandaged. It was obvious that she had a rough past.

"Now that you are ready," Professor Port continued, "the three of you shall work together to defeat the Grimm. Remember that—"

"I'm fighting alone," Rabe growled.

The Professor was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"I'm fighting alone," Rabe repeated. "Or else I'm not fighting at all." She glared daggers at the Professor.

He hesitated for a moment. "Very well," he said uncertainly. He raised his blunderbuss axe and smashed the lock of one of the cages.

A deer-like Grimm flew out of the cage and charged at Rabe. She dodged gracefully to the right before the sharp antlers could skewer her. The Grimm skidded to a halt and charged at her again. Rabe unsheathed one of her blades. It was an all-black long-sword of European design. The blade was about two and a half feet long and had two ravens etched on either side of the blade.

As the Grimm came closer, the ravens began to glow with an eerie light. Suddenly, shadows erupted from the sword and darkness filled the entire room. I heard the sound of wings filling the air. Then, a sickening slice and a deft thud was heard and the room was once again bathed in light.

Rabe was standing over the body of the deer Grimm, sheathing her sword. The head of the beast was cut off.

"Well done!" the Professor praised. Rabe simply huffed and stalked off to her seat. The girl named Brooke looked worriedly at Rabe while Eroe spoke quiet words to the wolf Faunus, her lion ears twitching. Rabe just scowled at her as the pink haired girl smiled sheepishly.

"I'm afraid that we don't have enough time to do two solo matches," the Professor said, gaining my attention again, "so we you two will have to fight at the same time."

We nodded and got into position. The Grimm inside the cages growled and moved about.

"You can do it Valkyrie!" Kellyn assured

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"C'mon Val!" Leo called.

"Fight well!" Blake said.

"Show them what you got!" Jack added.

"Yeah, Weiss!" Ruby yelled. "Represent Team RWBY!" She pumped her fists in the air

I smiled at my team. "I'll show 'em what a real Huntress can do," I promised. "Don't worry!"

Weiss scowled at Ruby. "Ruby," she scolded, "I'm trying to focus!"

Ruby dropped her smile and sank back down in her seat. "Oh, um, sorry…"

I frowned at Weiss. "She was only trying to encourage you," I hissed.

"I don't need encouragement," she muttered back.

"All right," the Professor called. "Let the match"—he broke the lock on both cages—"begin!"

In the cages were a Boarbatusk and a Death-hound. They leapt out and locked eyes with their prey. In other words: they looked like they were going to maul me and Weiss.

They charged forward and Weiss and I dodged in opposite directions. The Boarbatusk chased after Weiss while the Death-hound followed me. I examined the monster. It had black fur, like all Grimm, and plates of armor covering its body. I guess you could say that it was a mini Cyberbeast, just with only one head, a regular tail, and smaller.

It growled again and charged at me, its fangs ready to tear at my throat. I dodged once again and swung my sword at its body, but its armor protected it.

"Ha ha!" the Professor piped up. "Didn't see that coming now did you?" I wasn't sure whether he was talking to me or to Weiss, but I didn't care. I was focused at the battle at hand.

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby called.

"Show that Death-hound what a member of Team JVLN can do, Val!" Jack encouraged.

I charged at the Death-hound once again, but it pushed me back. I lost my footing and fell backwards. The Grimm leaped on me and opened its mouth to bite, but I held the stun baton up and it chomped on that instead. It used one of its paws to pin my other hand with the sword to the ground. I struggled to push the Death-hound off.

"Hold your ground!" the Professor instructed. "I like it!"

"C'mon Weiss!" Ruby cheered. "Show it who's boss!"

I heard a clatter and momentarily looked to my left to see Weiss's rapier Myrtenaster on the ground.

Uh-oh.

"Ho, ho," said the Professor. "What will you do without your weapon?"

I debated whether I should focus on my own fight or to help Weiss.

I should just mind my own business, I reasoned. Weiss is a Huntress-in-training. She can handle it. There is absolutely no reason to worry. She's gonna be just fine…

Damn it.

Using the rest of my strength, I pushed the Death-hound off me and it let go off my arm and stun baton. I made a sprint toward Myrtenaster and scooped it up. "Weiss!" I called. "Heads up!" She saw me and I threw Myrtenaster her way. She caught it and dodged another tackle.

"Weiss!" Ruby called. "Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath—"

Weiss snapped her head at Ruby. "_Stop telling me what to do_!" Weiss snarled.

Ruby stared at her in shock as a look of hurt crawled onto her face. I instantly felt anger building up in me.

I stepped to the right just as the Death-hound lunged at me again. "That's it!" I growled. I swept me right fist across the air and a trail of shadows followed its wake. The shadows grabbed the Death-hound and held it in the air. It yelped. I charged at it, jumped up, and swung my sword with all my might, the blade slashing through its body.

I rolled back to the ground as the shadows scattered and the Grimm fell to the floor, already dissolving into violet petals. Meanwhile, despite the fact that she yelled at Ruby for telling her some actual _helpful_ advice, Weiss followed Ruby's instructions and killed the Grimm by stabbing it in the stomach.

"Bravo!" the Professor praised as we stood back up. "Bravo! It appears that we are indeed in the presence of three true Huntresses-in-training. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today."

I looked toward Ruby. She still had that hurt look on her face. I then glared at Weiss. Weiss glowered back.

"Be sure to cover the assigned readings," the Professor continued. "And stay vigilant! Class dismissed."

Weiss turned on her heel and stomped out of the class. Her team quickly followed her. I was just about to storm over to her and give her a piece of my mind when Jack, Leo, and Kellyn came up beside me along with Team JNPR.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune muttered, staring at Weiss as she marched off.

"I honestly don't know," Kellyn sighed.

"Man, Ice Princess has got some serious issues," Leo grumbled.

Jack frowned as he watched his younger sister chase after Weiss. "I should probably see how Ruby's doing," he announced.

"I'm coming with you," I growled. "I need to teach Princess there a little lesson."

I stormed out toward Weiss and Ruby, Jack right at my heels.

I began to hear their argument.

"What's wrong with me?!" Weiss was asking. "What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!"

Ruby scoffed. "What did I do?"

"That's just it!" Weiss yelled. "You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest you acted like a child! And you've only continued to do so!"

I quickened my pace.

"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Ruby asked softly. "What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Not a team led by you," she deadpanned. I felt Jack stiffen beside me as we walked. "I've studied—and trained—and quite frankly, I deserve better." She crossed her arms and turned around. Ruby reached up to touch her, but Weiss spoke again in the coldest, most uncaring voice. "Ozpin made a mistake." Ruby lowered her hand and stared at her feet as Weiss walked away.

That was the last straw.

Jack stopped beside Ruby and tried to comfort his sister while I went off in a sprint. Just as Weiss rounded the corner, I leaped forward, grabbed her shoulder, and yanked her around.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I snarled. "Ruby's been trying her best to please her team—you especially—and you say something so cold-hearted like that?! Where is your kindness, huh?! Or is your damn heart so frozen that you feel no sense of guilt?! And back in class?! You didn't have to yell at her! She was just trying to give some helpful advice—which, by the way, _helped you live_—and you have the nerve to bring her down like that?!"

"I don't need to stand here and be scolded by the likes of you!" Weiss retorted, looking at me with disgust. "Oh, and by the way, your 'leader' isn't any better than his sister. I can't believe that Ozpin actually let those two _imbeciles _join this academy!"

I surged forward and grabbed Weiss's dress, yanking her forward and literally getting right up in her face. "Don't you _dare_ talk about my friends like that!" I spat. "They're better Huntsmen and Huntresses than you'll _ever_ be!"

I held my right hand up and balled it in a fist. That's when Blake and Yang came. Blake took hold of my raised arm while Yang tried to pry my hand off of Weiss's dress. I felt a pair of arms encircle my waist and try to pull me away. I looked back to see Kellyn trying to take me off. Behind him, Leo was with Jack and Ruby.

"Now's not the time to fight," Kellyn whispered in my ear with a serious look. "We all just need to calm down."

I scowled, but the adrenaline slowly wore down and the pounding in my ears stopped. I released Weiss and stepped a few paces back, glaring at her. She dusted herself off and glowered at me. "Oh, and next time, mind your own battle," she sniffed. "I'm just fine on my own. I don't need the distraction."

I let out a growl and stepped forward, fist raised again. Yang stepped in front of me, Black gripped my arm, and Kellyn wrapped his arms around my waist once more. I stopped and just stood there, my eyes burning with hatred as Weiss walked away to the balcony.

God, I hate that damn Ice Princess.

**_Kellyn_**

We watched as Weiss walked off. Blake released Valkyrie's arm and I let go of her waist. I could tell that Valkyrie was extremely angry, so I knew that I had to be careful not to set off a bomb.

As soon as Weiss was out of sight, Valkyrie snarled. "Damn that stupid, cold hearted, little—AARRGH!" She punched the wall in rage.

"Hey"—I gently touched her arm—"don't be so hard on her. She's probably just really frustrated. Remember, Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She's used to giving orders, not receiving them. Just handing over leadership to Ruby probably isn't the easiest thing for her to do."

"But she still shouldn't have acted that way," Valkyrie muttered, but I could tell that she was starting to calm down.

"She's right," Yang agreed. "Weiss should just let this drop already."

Blake stayed silent, as usual.

I glanced back at Ruby, Jack, and Leo. "C'mon," I said softly to Valkyrie. The two of us walked over to the rest of our team and Ruby while Blake and Yang moved off to their next class.

I noticed Professor Ozpin behind them. "Hmm," he said. "Now that didn't go over so well."

The three students jumped and looked at him, surprised.

"Bronze Bulls, you're like a ninja!" Leo exclaimed, looking the Professor over.

"Is she right?" Ruby asked softly. "Did you make a mistake?" She looked up at the Headmaster with expectant eyes, pleading for the truth.

"Ruby…" Jack placed a gentle hand on his little sister's shoulder.

The Headmaster chuckled. "That remains to be seen," he said.

Ruby looked at him with a confused look. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, it's only been one day." He chuckled slightly before a sad look entered his eyes. "Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, child on this planet."

"Well that's reassuring," Valkyrie muttered under her breath.

"But at this moment," he continued, "I would not consider your appointment to leader as one of them." He leaned in. "Do you?"

When Ruby didn't answer, the Headmaster continued on. "Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not preforming at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?"

Ruby stared at him in awe.

He turned away. "You have been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby," he said. He looked back at her. "I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it." He looked at Jack. "Same goes for you, Mr. Blank."

Jack looked a bit shocked. This reaction earned a light chuckle from the Headmaster. "I know that you have been doubting your own abilities as well, my friend. Both of you should listen to the advice I gave you." A mischievous glint showed in his eyes. "I know more than you think."

And with that, he walked off. Jack and Ruby exchanged a look of understanding.

"Well, that was a pleasant conversation, now wasn't it?" Leo asked cheerily.

"Yeah," Ruby said softly. "It sure was."

Jack smiled at his sister. "Well, we should probably get to our next class!" he announced. He gave his sister a noogie before walking off to our next class. Valkyrie and Leo followed, but I lagged behind.

Leo looked back at me. "You coming, partner?" he asked.

"You go on ahead," I said. "I'll catch up with you later. I've got some…business to tend to."

Leo simply shrugged and followed Jack and Valkyrie.

I hurried off to where Professor Ozpin last disappeared to. As soon as I caught sight of him, I jogged over. "That was a pretty impressive speech you gave there," I complimented.

"Thank you," he replied.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but you can ask another question."

"Why did you make Jack and Ruby the leaders of their teams?"

He looked at me with a hint of humor in his eyes. "Are you jealous?"

I laughed. "Me? No way! I'm quite relieved, actually. I was just wondering. I mean, you could have picked Weiss, or maybe Blake. You could have made me leader, or possibly even Valkyrie. But instead you chose Ruby and Jack. Why?"

He paused for a moment before answering. "They may be young, and a little inexperienced, but they have a large amount of untapped potential. You saw it yourself during initiation what Jack and Ruby could do. And that's not even a fraction of their true power. Those two have the true heart of a hero. They have big things planned for their future." He looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sure that's exactly why Fate brought them here with you other heroes."

I thought about that for a minute. "I guess that makes sense. Well, I'd better head off to my next class. See you later, Professor Ozpin." Just as I turned to go to my next class, the Professor called out to me.

"Keep an eye out for your team, okay? I have a feeling that this year is going to be a hectic one."

"I will!"

"Oh, and good luck with Miss Valkyrie Cain."

I stopped in my tracks as I looked back. He was looking at me with a smirk on his face as the heat rose to mine.

"I know a lot more than you think," he repeated. And with a chuckle, he moved off.

I stood there for a moment, the red in my cheeks slowly disappearing, before moving off. I soon reached the rest of my team. They were talking with the members of Team EMBR.

Jack noticed me and motioned for me to come over. "And this is Kellyn Nyrel," he said to the Faunus team.

"Hi!" I said. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," said their leader. "I'm Eroe Della-Luce Estiva at your service. This is my team: Rabe Schwarz, Momoiro Tatsumaki, and Brooke Dimitri."

I examined the team. Rabe had changed back into her school uniform, but she kept her wolf necklace. Her ears and tail twitched.

Brooke had blue hair and her cheeks and nose were dotted with freckles. On the sides of her neck were gills and a few green scales, indicating that she was a turtle Faunus. She had sea green eyes.

Momoiro was a bunny Faunus. Her brown ears were a clear give away. But they weren't the bunny ears that stood straight up; they were the ones that flopped down. She had long, messy pink hair.

It was pretty obvious that Eroe was part lion because of her lion ears and tail. She had blond hair and eyes that changed color, so it was hard to tell whether they were brown, green, or blue. Freckles dotted her cheeks and nose. She held her black fedora in her hand. Then I noticed her outfit.

"Are you wearing the male uniform?" I asked Eroe.

She blinked and looked down clothing. "Oh. Yeah, I really didn't want to wear the girl uniforms," she explained, rubbing the back of her neck with a smile. "I prefer pants and ties over skirts and ribbons."

"Even though her mom is probably the most famous supermodel in the entire world!" Momoiro snickered. Eroe elbowed Momoiro in the gut.

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eroe looked pretty embarrassed. "Yeah…it's a…"

"Long story?" Jack asked with an understanding tone. Eroe nodded. "Don't sweat it. Trust me, my story's definitely crazier."

"Really?" Eroe asked with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting. Well," She waved goodbye and motioned for her team to follow her. "We'd better head to class. See you again soon!"

"Bye!" we called.

Jack looked to us. "We should do the same. We've already spent a lot of time as it is. Wouldn't want to be late on our first day!" And with that, we walked off.

* * *

><p>I was walking down the dorm halls at night. Valkyrie was still stressed out about today's event, but not as much as earlier.<p>

Almost everyone had gone to sleep. I had wanted to play on my leaf whistle on the watch tower again, so I was up later than the others. I was just about to enter my team's dorm room when I heard muffled noises from Team RWBY's room. I paused and went up to the door to listen.

I recognized Weiss's voice. "Ruby," she began, "I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. I took me a minute to realize that she was _apologizing_. _Weiss_. _Apologizing_. Those were two words that I never thought I'd use together.

"Just know," she continued, "that I am going to be the _best_ teammate you'll ever have. Good luck studying." There was a pause. "That's wrong, by the way," Weiss piped up again.

Weiss opened the door and turned at the door frame. I hid behind the open door and leaned against the wall. "Hey, Ruby?" she asked.

"Uh-huh?" Ruby said.

"I always wanted bunk beds as a kid." With that, she closed the door.

"Soooo," I cooed. Weiss jumped and turned to see me leaning against the wall, my arms crossed. "Weiss Schnee—heiress to the Schnee Dust Company—just apologized to Ruby Rose. Who would've thought?"

"Kellyn, I swear, if you _dare_ tell _anyone_ about this, I will _castrate_ you," she threatened.

"Well, that's a bit much," I replied. "But don't worry; your secret is safe with me."

I walked over to my room and opened the door. I looked over my shoulder. "Oh, and Weiss?" Weiss looked at me. "I always knew there was a good heart in that ice-cold exterior. Night!"

I closed the door behind me as I fell onto my bed. I closed my eyes and dreams immediately swarmed my vision. In sighed and let myself relax, allowing the dreams to take over.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: I know, I know. I said that I would update in a week and instead it has been more than a month. I'm terrible at keeping promises. But in my defense, I have been extremely busy over the past month. I <em>was<em> going to finish my story about a week or two ago, but then I remembered that we were going to Reno. I'M SO SORRY!**

**Kellyn: Well, at least we're back in business, right?**

**Jack: Yeah! Cheer up!**

**Valkyrie: (grumbling) Easy for you to say…..**

**Jack: What's wrong, Val?**

**Valkyrie: If you hadn't noticed, I'm still a bit annoyed by how Weiss reacted to Ruby and me.**

**Leo: Aw, C'mon Val! (grins wickedly) _Weiss so serious?_**

**Everyone: (groans)**

**Valkyrie: Can we throw Valdez of a bridge?**

**Kellyn: (raises his hand) I second that notion.**

**Jack: Me too.**

**Me: And I shall carry it out! (lifts Leo and throws him off a bridge)**

**Leo: (screaming) WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!**

**Me: DON'T WORRY! I ENCHANTED THE WATER DOWN THERE SO IT WILL BREAK YOUR FALL AND MAKE IT LESS PAINFUL!**

**(A splash is heard)**

**Leo: (muffled voice) Thank you…I guess…**

**Me: You're welcome! And to you, my lovely readers, I have to say that I am not certain when the next chapter will be up. But I sincerely thank you for staying with me! Once again, if you have anything you want to see happen in this story, please leave it in a review of PM me. I'm always open to ideas!**

**Anyways, this is Moonwolf121 and Team JVLN here, howlin' you a godly time~**


	16. Partnership

**Partnership**

_**Valkyrie**_

"C'mon Val! Sing it!"

"Do it or we won't stop begging!"

"_Please_?"

I was getting really annoyed at that point. "Go away you idiots," I grumbled trying to do my homework. We were in our dorm room after finishing the last class of the day. Kellyn and I started to do our assigned work. Jack and Leo had other plans. The two dimwits were trying to get me to sing _Row Row Row Your Boat_. "I am not going to sing some stupid song."

Leo and Jack got even closer. "_Please_?!" they whined.

I ignored them.

"PLEEEEAAASEE? Pretty please with a cherry on top? _PLEEEAAAASSSEE_?!"

"For the love of God and all that is holy, just sing the damn song!" Kellyn hissed. I know Kellyn as a pretty calm dude, but I guess even he has his limits. He was sitting at his desk trying to do his work as well, but he was pinching the bridge of his nose, looking pretty annoyed. At some point, the pencil in his hand snapped in two because he was gripping it so tightly—probably resisting the urge to strangle both his leader and partner.

Leo and Jack tried one last attempt. "_PLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSS_—"

"Fine!" I snapped, finally giving in after half an hour of begging. "I'll sing your damn song!"

"Yes!" they cheered.

I swiveled around in my chair, giving the two idiots a deadly glare. "Row row row your damn boat, gently off a fucking cliff," I said in a flat voice, changing the words. I didn't even bother keeping my curse inside. I was pissed. [Hey, you two were being the most obnoxious nuisances in the entire freaking universe. Not even Skulduggery could top how annoying you were.]

Jack shrugged. "Eh, close enough. At least we got _some_ of the words out of her."

"Still," Leo ventured, shaking his head. "It would have been better if she sang the _whole_ thing."

"Leo, Jack, I swear," Kellyn swiveled around in his chair and glared daggers at them, "if you start whining again, I will personally have you flogged." How he would do that, I had no idea. But he didn't look like he was kidding.

Apparently, the two knuckleheads saw that too and immediately backed off. "We're done!" Jack exclaimed. "No need to get violent!" They both smiled innocently. I sighed in annoyance.

"Well, I've lost all of my concentration," I announced. I abruptly stood up and slipped on my jacket.

"Where are you going?" Kellyn asked.

"On a walk. I need to clear my head."

I exited our dorm and made my way outside. I walked for a while without really knowing where I was going. Just going wherever my feet lead me, I guess. Recently, the craziness of my situation has started to finally dawn on me.

I mean, I knew what was going on for the past few months, but so much had been happening that I couldn't really stop to think about it. Only now did the realization hit me. I replayed my status in my head.

I'm stuck in another dimension on a completely different world.

Check.

I went from being partners with a skeleton who's over 400 years old to being partners with a lively Blondie who's a few years younger than me.

Check.

I'm in a team with that guy, some short, scrawny, pranking pyromaniac that really gets on my nerves, and an intelligent blue-eyed teen that seems to be the only person on the team I can actually stand at the moment.

Check.

The only people who know of my true identity in this world are two professors I barely know who run an academy designed to train children to fight giant monsters that can very much kill them.

Another check.

Darquesse is _still_ constantly talking to me.

Double Check.

And lastly, I have to resist the urge to strangle a certain heiress of the cold.

Big fat freaking _Check_.

I stopped walking and looked up. I noticed that my feet had taken me to the statue at the front of the school. I placed a hand on the smooth stone base. It was cool, and strangely relaxing. I turned and slid down onto the stone floor. Sighing, I closed my eyes and I leaned my head back, enjoying the calmness of the moment for a while. Eventually, I started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>I wandered around the plain. I had no idea where I was, and there was no one in sight. "Where am I?" I wondered aloud. Then the scene changed. I was in a swamp, and in front of me was a building, which was gradually sinking down. It looked like they were adding another room at the top of the structure. Surrounding the area was an electric fence, which was spewing sparks as the rain pelted downwards. Near the gate was a school bus filled with children ranging from what seemed like five to fourteen years old. But I ignored it. Something compelled me to go inside the building instead.<p>

As I walked up to the door, I saw a stone wall, and written on it were the words "_St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost"_

_An orphanage?_ I thought.

Entering the building, I looked around. It seemed dull, and plain. Nothing made it seem like a comfortable home or a nice place to visit. It was as if all imagination was sucked out of this place.

I passed by classrooms and dorms. There was a dining hall, lots of classrooms, and what seemed to be a basement. Although, it probably was just another room that sunk down into the swamp.

I suddenly stopped in front of a library door. As if in a trance, I entered it, and found that it was dark. Reading the air, I sensed the presence of someone behind a bookshelf. I walked over and looked behind it. A dark figure was crawled up with its head ducked down. According to its size, it was probably a boy no older than twelve years old. In front of him was a box full of who knows what. He kept quiet, and didn't move at all.

As I was about to call out to him, the library doors burst open. Instinctively, I took out my weapon and pointed it at the new arrival. Standing there was a tall, spindly and cranky-looking old woman with horn rimmed glasses and a wound-up knot of frizzy gray hair. She looked like she smelled something horrible. She was holding a yard stick. But she didn't seem to notice me, so I put away my weapon.

When she spoke, her voice was shrill and it hit my eardrums like a siren. "Jack Blank, I know you're in there!"

_Jack?! _I thought incredulously. _As in my bloody idiotic leader Jack?!_ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the boy flinch and tense up. I looked back at him, and saw that it was really Jack himself. Except for two things. One: he was twelve. Two: he didn't have that weird mark on his right eye. Inside the box was a set of old comic books and blank pages.

Younger-Jack screwed his eyes shut and ducked farther down the bookcase. I raised an eyebrow, and wondered what kind of trouble Jack got himself into. Then the sudden thought occurred to me that maybe Jack didn't do anything, and was just being treated cruelly. That's pretty common in orphanages.

"Don't _make_ me come in there, Jack!" the old lady continued. "I want you out here by the count of three! Front and center, young man! One!"

Younger-Jack held his breath.

"Two…" She tapped her yardstick on the frame of the door.

"Three." She opened the lights and I saw Younger-Jack cringe. The old woman started searching the library, looking for Younger-Jack. Said boy was tense the entire time. She banged countertops, tables, and bookshelves with her yardstick, hoping to fish out Younger-Jack. But I already knew that my leader wasn't going to be caught that easily. Then, she slapped the yardstick on the bookshelf that Younger-Jack was hiding behind. The boy screwed his eyes shut even more, and waited for what he thought for sure would be the inevitable, but instead, the woman let out an annoyed huff and stormed out of the library, turning the lights off behind her.

"Whew!" Younger-Jack sighed, slumping down in relief. He then took out some comic books and searched through them. I looked at Jack closely. His hair was shorter, and he definitely was younger than what I remembered him as. He looked a lot weaker too. The mark on his eye was gone, as if it was never there. But that's not why he looked different. It was just the entire _being_ of this kid that was different. It was as if the only problems he was worried about were the old lady. It seemed like he was more…I dunno…_innocent_. And the dramatic difference between this Jack and the one I know was so great that I wondered how much the Jack I know has _really_ gone through.

Younger-Jack pulled out one comic book and set the rest aside. He settled into a comfortable position and began reading. I was able to glimpse at the cover, and what I saw was so strange that I thought I imagined it. There was a man in the center. He was surrounded by robot-like creatures. But what really got my attention was that all of these robot things had the same mark that the Jack I knew had.

I tried to think of how that was even possible. Was Jack some kind of hard-core fan or something? Sure, I can see him being excited over comics. But not _that_ extreme.

Just then, a boy with freckles on his pudgy face, spikey hair, and big teeth entered the room. He was probably Younger-Jack's age, but twice his size. He looked like a classic bully. Younger-Jack didn't even glance up. He was so engrossed with the comic.

"Jack, hide," I whispered, but I knew that he probably couldn't hear me. It was like I was a ghost here. Younger-Jack got halfway into the comic and pulled out the notebook paper. He looked to be in deep concentration.

"Jack, I'm serious, hide," I said, raising my voice as the other boy started searching. Younger-Jack kept his eyes on the page.

The other boy was right next to the bookcase. "Jack, _pay attention and hide!_"

Too late. The boy found him. Jack finally looked up and was shocked to see him there. "Found him, Mrs. Theeeeedwheck!" the boy called in the other direction."

"_Ha_!" the old bat shouted back.

Younger-Jack's face fell. "Oh great," he muttered.

"Whoa," the other boy said as he stared at Younger-Jack's little collection. "You're in trouble now, Weirdo Face." I raised an eye brow. _Really? That's the best he could come up with?_

"Don't call me that," Younger-Jack snapped, standing up. _That's the Jack I know_, I thought.

"Who's gonna stop me?" the other boy taunted, shoving Younger-Jack back to the ground.

The old bat came back to the library. "Good work, Rex!" she praised. She turned to Younger-Jack. "I knew you were in here. I just kn—_oh my goodness_!" She gasped as she looked in horror at the comic books. "Are those _comic books_?!"

"Yes ma'am," Younger-Jack answered in a sullen voice. I frowned at how easily he gave up. _That's not the Jack I know_.

"The ones I told you to throw away?!"

He nodded.

I watched the scene transpire in front of my eyes. Was I in a memory? If I was, why was I in _Jack's_ memory? And why this one? Actually, how'd I even get here in the first place? Better yet, where _is_ here?

I snapped back into reality when Younger-Jack's eyes widened at Mrs. Theedwheck. "—I want you to put every one of these childish publications in the incinerator," she was saying, gesturing to the comics.

"_No!_" Younger-Jack yelled desperately.

Suddenly, the lights in the room grew brighter, before fading out to their regular levels.

"What the…?" I muttered. Mrs. Theedwheck had the same reaction.

"It's Jack," Rex accused. "He's messing with the lights!"

"What are you talking about?" Younger-Jack retorted. "I am not!" His temper was getting higher, and so were the lights. _It's probably his semblance acting up for the first time_, I thought. _They just don't know it_.

Mrs. Theedwheck looked out the window and saw sparks flying from the electric fence. She assured Rex that it was probably just the electric fence acting up in the rain, draining power from the generator. "I'm telling you, it's him Mrs. Theedwheck!" Rex persisted. "This kind of crazy stuff always happens around him. Like the bus breaking down every time he gets on it, or that time when Jack broke my calculator in the middle of the match test."

"That was _my_ calculator!" Younger-Jack corrected angrily. "You stole it from me! And I didn't break it!" The lights intensified to their brightest setting yet, and I took a cautious step back.

"It's him, Mrs. Theedwheck! He's doing it! Make him stop!"

"I'm not doing _anything_!"

The light bulbs above them exploded and rained glass on top of them. Mrs. Theedwheck screamed. "Jack, that's enough! Whatever you're doing, stop it!"

"But I'm not doing anything!" Younger-Jack insisted, but he seemed to be calming down, even if it was only a little. "Please, Mrs. Theedwheck, don't burn my comics! I'll do whatever you want. I'll do chores all day. All week even!"

_Damn_, I thought. _Those comic books must be pretty important if he's willing to do chores_.

Mrs. Theedwheck chuckled darkly. "Oh, I know you will. But the comic books are getting burned either way. Rex, gather up every last one. You _and_ Jack will be sending them straight to the incinerator." Younger-Jack's eyes widened, as did mine. That is just plain _cruel_. "Afterwards, I want you to get on the bus. Jack, you have chores to do. But first things first." She took out her yardstick, and Jack shied away. I immediately knew what was coming.

But before I knew it, everything turned white. Nothing was there. It was silent. I decided to use the moments to mull over what I had just saw. That was most likely a memory of Jack's childhood. But where exactly was it? I thought that Jack lived with his dad before getting separated and ending up with Ruby's family.

Well, whatever the case, Jack had a rough life. Considering how Jack acts now, he must have been a pretty strong kid to pull through it all.

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

"_Valkyrie_."

I immediately whipped around, unsheathing my blade.

"Who's there?!" I yelled at no one in particular.

"_Calm down_," said the voice. It sounded like a female. And did I detect a hint of…amusement in her voice? "_I am not here to hurt you_."

"Then show yourself!"

"_In time. But Right now, I need you to hear me out_."

I decided to close my mouth for a few minutes.

"_Good. Now, listen carefully. I need you to protect your new friends with your life—Teams RWBY, JNPR, and especially your own team. You all are the chosen heroes. You must protect your friends, those who will soon become your friends, and the many universes as you know it._"

"What are you talking about?" I burst out. "This is all so crazy! What do you mean, 'we're the chosen heroes'?!"

She silenced me with a hush. "_In time, Valkyrie. In time. I was able to give you a glimpse of Jack's past so you can understand him better. Be expecting more on the way from your other teammates. But for now, just know that fate and the gods will be watching over you and aiding you when needed. Now…wake up._"

"Wha—"

"_Wake up_."

Suddenly, a new voice bellowed and pierced the air around me. "_RUBY!_"

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>My eyes snapped open and I bolted up with a gasp. I looked around to find that I was not in a field of white. I was not at the orphanage either. I was really sitting at the base of the statue in front of Beacon Academy. It was getting pretty late. <em>A dream<em>, I thought wearily as I rubbed my eyes. _It was all just a dream…_

Then I took notice of Team RWBY a few yards away. With a scowl, I noted how Weiss was lecturing Ruby.

"Ruby! I told you not to shake it so much! Now you've ruined my combat skirt!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"

Ruby was apologizing rapidly to Weiss as the heiress scowled at her skirt, which was coated with a variety of dust. "You dolt! Do you know how hard it is to remove dust?!"

I winced at the volume of her voice. I still had a headache from the whining from earlier.

"Damn it…" I muttered, rubbing my temples as I groggily got up. "Oi!" I barked, gaining their attention. "Ice Queen, keep your voice down! I was having such a nice dream!" I lied.

Weiss turned to me and her scowl deepened—which I didn't even know was possible, considering how it was before.

"Why on Remnant would you be sleeping out here?" she demanded.

I didn't answer her. I just simply walked past the team and headed for the dorm rooms again. I didn't feel like arguing with Little Miss Perfect again. Weiss glared at me as I passed, but kept silent nonetheless.

As I reached the dorm building, I looked up to find the window of my room. I finally spotted it and stood under it. Flexing my fingers a bit, I began to concentrate. Then, I snapped my hands open and I manipulated the air to propel my skyward. I rocketed to the open window of my dorm room and landed gracefully on the sill in a crouch.

Jack was lying on his bed, flipping through one of his old comics while listening to a song through a set of headphones with his jade-colored symbol engraved on it. On the ground was Leo, looking through some blueprints while taking some measurements. Kellyn was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed like Leo wasn't expecting me to come from the window, because he immediately snapped into action. His right hand shot out and gripped a screwdriver. Jack didn't seem fazed at all by my actions. Instead, he simply flipped another page and nodded in my direction. "Welcome back, Val," he mumbled absentmindedly without averting his attention from the comic. I raised an eyebrow.

Once my paranoid teammate realized it was me, he relaxed.

I looked at Leo and scoffed. "A screwdriver?" came my remark.

"Hey, screwdrivers are deadly," he protested defensively as he set the tool down. "They can cause serious damage." I shook my head with a chuckle.

"Why didn't you use the door?" he asked me as I hopped off the window sill.

I waved it off. "Doors are for people with no imagination," I said, remembering Skulduggery's favorite catchphrase. He rolled his eyes and looked towards Jack.

"How are you unfazed by the fact that she came in through the window?" Leo asked Jack as the blonde slipped off his headphones.

Jack finished reading and put the comic away with a shrug. "Ruby did that all the time back home," he explained. "I guess that I just got used to it."

I examined Jack for a moment. If he knew that I saw his memories, he didn't show it. His face was calm, and a little carefree. He was fit, and although he didn't look like he could actually take Rex down with one punch initially at first, the way he moved would make you think otherwise. He probably wouldn't even listen to a person like Mrs. Theedwheck. He didn't look like the helpless, weak boy I had seen in my dreams.

Jack tilted his head and smirked at me. "Why are you staring at me like that?" he joked. Even the tone in his voice was different from Younger-Jack's. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah," I said. "There's something weird about you…oh wait, it's just your face." I decided to avoid telling him what I saw, and act normally.

He scowled as the Leo laughed. "Ha ha bloody _ha_," he said flatly.

"Ah, c'mon Jack!" Leo wrapped an arm around Jack's neck and led him to the blueprints on the floor. "Why don't you help me with this project? I could use someone who knows their way around machines!"

The door opened and Kellyn walked in, looking a bit confused. "Hey man!" Leo greeted. "Where've you been?"

Kellyn took a moment, as if gaining his bearings. "Well…I went down for a snack…and I met this rather strange individual."

I raised an eyebrow. "How strange?"

"Well," he began. "He was having trouble opening a pickle jar—"

"How does someone have trouble opening a pickle jar?"

"Beats me. Anyways, I opened it for him—with ease. He was silent for a while before he took the jar, stood up, and announced that he was going to bed." Kellyn scratched the back of his head. "He seemed a bit upset. I wonder how he's doing—"

Suddenly, from a few doors down the hall, a deep voice boomed loudly. "OH MY GOD THESE PICKLES ARE SO GOOD!"

We all stared at the door.

"I think he's fine," Jack decided.

"Yeah," the three of us agreed in unison.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>An hour or two later, we climbed into bed. I didn't really feel like going to sleep, so instead I decided to go on my laptop to do some…research. As soon as I thought everyone was in bed, I went over to my computer. Opening it, the screen lit up in my face. I searched up "<em>St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost<em>". I got nothing. I searched for everything, from Mrs. Theedwheck to orphanage in the swamp to annoying freckled grunt with big stupid hair named Rex. And believe me; I actually searched using those exact same words. Nothing.

Suddenly, after half an hour later, Jack's voice called out from behind me. "What are you doing still up?" I jumped in my seat and slammed my laptop shut. The room went dark. "Uh…" Jack said quietly in the dark. "Do you mind making a light?"

Sheepishly, I lit a small flame in my hand. Jack's face was illuminated with an orange glow. He blinked groggily, his eyes adjusting. "Wow, that's bright," he muttered. He rubbed his eyes as he sat down in a chair next to me, the back of it against his chest. In his hands were a carton of milk and an empty glass cup. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Er, yeah," I admitted. He nodded, and poured some milk into the cup. He offered it to me, and I took it, taking a few sips. Meanwhile, he drank straight out of the carton, intent on finishing it.

"May I ask what you were doing on your laptop?" he asked as he sipped.

I snorted. "Why don't you use your semblance to find out yourself?"

"Because that would be an invasion of privacy."

"And asking me isn't?"

"I'm giving you the choice of telling me. If you don't want me to know, I won't persist on it. I won't even use my powers, I swear."

I was silent for a few moments, staring at the fire in my hands. "I was just searching for any updates on my family," I lied.

"Ah." He didn't push any farther.

After a moment, I spoke up again. "Hey Jack? Why didn't you tell me you grew up in an orphanage?"

Jack paused, the carton of milk halfway to his mouth. "I…didn't think it was important," he answered slowly.

I looked at him crossly as he gulped down the rest of the milk. "Really? You didn't think it was important to tell your partner that you lived your childhood in a hell?"

He shrugged as he looked at the carton in his hand. "We all deal with the same hell, just different devils. We all live in the same game, just different levels—"

"Don't start on that."

"—besides, it's not like there was anything you could do about it." He tossed the carton in the trash. "Anyways, how'd you find out about it?"

"Educated guess."

"Huh. Figures."

Another pause. "Jack…you do know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I gazed at him. "We're partners now. We have to trust each other. Otherwise, what's the point?" I felt like a hypocrite. I was asking him to trust me and tell me his problems, but I wasn't telling him mine. But what was I supposed to do? Tell him that I'm from another planet known as Earth? He'd never believe me.

Jack sighed. "I know Val. But…not now. I'll tell you everything someday, I promise. But…just not now."

I stared at Jack. Was this person seriously the same aloof, annoying idiot from earlier today? This…serious, compassionate, calm, level-headed person? I shook my head and shrugged it off. I tried figuring out what to do. The voice in my head was right; I needed to protect my team. But I needed to know more about them.

"You know, my dad was a pretty crumby father," I said, staring at the flame in my hand.

Jack looked at me. "What?"

"He was clumsy, and could get pretty annoying. When I showed him my first boyfriend, he acted incredibly weird around him. When I broke up with that guy, he went out and set up a date for me with another boy—without my permission, may I add."

Jack snorted. "Some dad."

I chuckled a little, and through that small burst of air, I felt my nerves begin to settle. "Every day on my birthday, he would sing a stupid and immature song. The first car he gave me was orange with a purple dash board. He even openly admitted that he wanted his first child to be a boy—"

"Ouch."

"—And I still love him, because through it all, he stood by my side and loved me. Yet here I am, trying to avoid them because of an…" I paused. "…incident…that happened. But I bet that if I were to go home right now, he would forgive me. Because that's the kind of dad he was."

Jack scrutinized me for a long moment. The only sound heard was the crackling of the flame in my open hand. I took another sip from my milk.

"He…he sounds like a pretty awesome dad to me," Jack finally commented.

I smiled softly. "Yeah. I guess so. The point is…I don't like talking about my past either. But sometimes…" I stared him straight in the eyes. "…it really helps to get it out.

He avoided eye contact. I wondered if pressuring this information out of him was the best idea.

I finished my drink and was just about to give up and go back to bed when he finally spoke up. "I…I lived in an orphanage known as St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. Grew up there for most of my life, really. I was left on their doorsteps in a basket with the name _Jack_ scrawled across the handle. Nothing more about my past. Not even a last name. During tests, I would write _Jack_ and leave the rest blank. Jack Blank. The name just stuck, I guess."

He took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "In all orphanages, there's that one kid who's more of an outsider than anyone else; the one kid that still doesn't fit in with people who are in a similar situation as the others. I was that kid. My entire time at the orphanage, I was being told that I was nothing. I was worthless. They said that I was so ugly and pathetic that my own parents didn't even want me. The kids there made all kinds of stories about my parents. One of them was that they were sewer mutants—"

"_Sewer mutants_?"

He laughed at my disgusted face. He immediately covered it and looked at Leo and Kellyn, whom were still sleeping. They didn't move. I saw him relax, and I knew that my plan had worked.

"Yeah, crazy right? Anyways, the other kids said that I was so ugly, even for my parents. So they abandoned me. I mean, I knew that all of it wasn't true, but it still hurt, you know? I actually began thinking that it was all true—not the sewer mutant part, by the way—I thought that my parents really didn't love me, so they left me. Anyways, everyone in the orphanage did all they could to make my life miserable, even the teachers. The world was slowly sinking around me—quite literally. The orphanage was located in a swamp. There was only one thing that kept me going."

"And what's that?" I asked curiously. What in the world could have been so amazing that it could have kept Jack's hopes up?

He smirked at me. "Comic books."

He got up and slowly opened his chest. He took out a comic and showed it to me. "You see, St. Barnaby's had a strict rule of no creativity—"

"Kind of goes against everything that most of the people of Remnant stand for, don't you think?"

The way his mouth twitched and how his eyes glinted mischievously made me wonder if I said something funny. "Yeah, it does. Anyways, comic books were strictly forbidden. One day, a box full of them was found at our doorsteps. They were ordered to be burned in the incinerator. And they would have…if they didn't assign the task to me."

I grinned. "You sneaky bastard."

He turned his palms up with a smile. "Hey, those things were bright, and full of amazing stories. I just couldn't bring myself to burn them. And I'm glad I didn't. I hid them away, and when no one was looking, I would sneak my way to the library and read them. In those stories, I was taught new lessons; lessons about doing the right thing, and what it took to be a hero." Jack started getting this faraway look in his eyes as he recounted those pleasant memories. "The best part was that on some of them, the last few pages were missing, so I could make up my own ending. My imagination could run wild, and I thought about ways of how the hero could triumph over the villain. I drew out my thoughts, and put them together with each comic. It was the coolest. After a day of people trying to tear me down, I could just read those comics and push myself to keep going, because those stories taught me that no matter how long the storm continues to rage, the sun will shine at some point. I never lost hope."

I smiled at how enthusiastic he was. "And I suppose that's why you like comics so much?"

"Well, _duh_," he replied. He grinned at me. "Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the comic books: someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves. I convinced myself that I could get away from that dreary life at St. Barnaby's one day. And now look at me!" He spread his arms out wide. "Not only do I have a family, but I'm also training to be a Huntsman, one of the most respected heroes in all of Remnant! I got two sisters and a father! I was moved ahead two years! And now I'm leader of a badass team!"

"Damn right about that."

"Then again, they do have an awesome and super cool leader." He set his hands on his hips and puffed his chest up.

I laughed. "Heh, you're not too bad kid," I admitted. I reached over and ruffled his hair, much to his displeasure. "I actually feel pretty lucky that you're my partner. And no matter what the other two say, I'm positive that they think you're a great leader too."

"Who ever said we thought otherwise?"

We both jumped and looked over to see that Kellyn and Leo were sitting up on their beds. Kellyn looked a bit drowsy, but he was smiling nonetheless. Leo…well, he looked like he always does: high on caffeine.

"How long have you two been awake?" Jack demanded.

"Long enough to hear both your stories," Leo replied with a devilish grin.

Jack groaned.

"Hey man, don't worry! I feel your pain!" He pointed to himself. "Remember, I grew up in orphanages as well!"

"Wait, you _did_?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep!" Leo replied, a little _too_ carefree for my liking. "It was like hell, but I survived!"

"As much as I'd like to hear more touching stories from you guys," Kellyn interrupted, "I think that it's best for us all to go to bed now. It's getting late. We have to be ready for tomorrow's classes."

"Geez Kellyn, way to spoil the mood," I grumbled. He simply rolled his eyes.

We all laughed, and at that moment, I knew that being a part of Team JVLN was probably going to be one of the best things in my entire life.

Jack smiled. Then, he seemed to remember something. He turned to me. "Hey, Val, did you finish that work from earlier? You know…the one that you were doing before you went on that walk?"

My eyes widened with realization. "_Shit_."

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Heeeeeyyyyy! I'M ALIIIIIVE! And so is this story! Sorry I took so long.<strong>

**Jack: Almost six months, to be more precise.**

**Valkyrie: You procrastinate too much, you know.**

**Me: There's no need to state out the obvious, Valkyrie. Anyways, that pickle thing was actually a reference to one of my online friend's OC. The OC's name is Ulysses Kiirokotte, and he's a member of Team KURS. These guys are so awesome that I'm considering to add references to them once in a while. And yeah.**

**Kellyn: Dear God, please don't. I've seen what they do. They are sources for complete ****_chaos_****.**

**Jack: I don't know, they seem pretty fun to me.**

**Kellyn: No. I have had enough trouble dealing with you three already. And not to mention the other te—**

**Me: HEY NO SPOILERS.**

**Kellyn: (grumbles) But it's true…**

**Me: ****_Anyways_****… This chapter was actually supposed to be about the tension between Valkyrie and Weiss, and I was at a fight scene when I got stumped. So, after a long time, I finally went back to review some stuff, and change a few things. But as I changed things, it started going off in a completely different direction, and I rather liked how it went so yeah. Here it is. AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PEOPLE! And, I'm also accepting a few OCs! I don't know how many and when I might use them, but I do know that I'm ****_definitely _****accepting OC villains. So, knock yourself out! And I've decided that they ****_can_**** be a crossover, but it has a least likely chance of getting accepted. Just PM me for a template and then again for when you got it all worked out! Also, I wanted to say thank you to Okdes, TheLastValkyrie, Aether032, and pyrojack25 for helping me on this story!**

**Valkyrie: Those guys were pretty cool.**

**Me: Yup! Oh, and one more announcement: I'm going to revise the entire story. I want to look for errors and make a few changes, so the next chapter won't be up for a while. But keep checking just in case I update the old chapters!**

**Leo: (Suddenly walks in with marker drawings all over his face) Alright, whose idea was this?**

**Everyone: (Bursts out laughing)**

**Leo: Ha ha bloody ****_ha._**

**Me: (snickers) That's a gift from the hothead pyrojack25.**

**Leo: Not cool. Not at all.**

**Me: Ah, come on! Hey! I know what will cheer you up! (slings an arm around Leo's neck) Valkyrie and I are planning a flaming pie prank for Cardin Winchester. You wanna help?**

**Leo: (Grins) Well, ****_duh!_**

**Jack: (Rolls his eyes) Anyways, this is Team JVLN and Moonwolf121, howlin' you a godly time~**

**(Suddenly, a large explosion is seen, and the fire spells out ****_FROM YOUR FRIEND, PYROJACK25_****)**


	17. Tension

**Tension**

**_Valkyrie_**

The next few weeks came and brought along some more problems. Jack and Leo played a few jokes and pranks to "lighten the mood" as they had put it. I had no idea what they meant by that, but I shrugged it off. They made puns for everyone, and they seemed to take them pretty well since there was no harm to it.

As we were making our way to another class one morning, I overheard Jack and Leo plotting a pun for Weiss. They didn't want to make it a regular pun, but they couldn't figure out what to do. I decided to help them because, well, why the heck not? I gave them a suggestion, and they seemed to like it a lot. So they went with it, and revealed the joke to the others during lunch.

And that's when today's troubles started.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey guys!" Jack called over as he ran to the table where Kellyn, teams RWBY and JNPR, and I were sitting at, Leo right behind him. "Check out what we made thanks to an idea Valkyrie gave us!"<p>

In Leo's hand was a toy Jack-in-the-Box. He started winding it as the music played and the two sang along to the famous words. But, when the box popped open, instead of a clown, a frowning, miniature puppet-Weiss came out. She had the ears and tail of a weasel.

"Pop goes the _Weiss_el!" they sang.

Most of us either laughed or snickered. Even Blake and Ren managed to crack a little smile. However, Weiss was downright furious.

"How _dare_ you!" she snarled. "This is unacceptable and just plain _rude_!" Her knuckles were tightly clenched, and it looked like she wanted to punch something.

Leo and Jack both scrambled away from the table, frightened of Weiss. And I couldn't blame them. The aura around her just screamed _murderous_.

I stood in between my two teammates and a Weiss who looked like she was about to leap right across the table to strangle the boys. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down Ice Queen!" I exclaimed. "It was just a harmless joke!"

She turned her vicious glare to me. "And you! You helped them create this—this abomination!"

"Excuse me," Leo pointed a finger at Weiss. "Did you just call my beautiful project an 'abomination'? I _know_ you didn't just do that."

Weiss growled at Leo, sending him shrinking behind Jack once again.

I gritted my teeth. "Listen up, Ice Queen. You need to learn how to take things easy. If you can't handle a single harmless joke then—"

"Hey, Team JVLN! Team RWBY!"

We turned our heads to the person who called us. I recognized Eroe instantly.

"Oh, hi, Eroe," Jack greeted, relieved to avert the subject at hand. "What's up?"

"The headmaster has called for you guys." She shrugged. "Don't know what it's about, but you should head to his office."

We looked at each other. I was still miffed at Weiss, but that conversation could wait for another time. What could Professor Ozpin want with us?

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>"You want us to do <em>what<em>?!"

I stared at Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch like they had lost it. My team and Ruby's were standing in the Headmaster's office, which was built within the clock tower of Beacon. There were gears hanging in the ceiling, casually turning and making the clock work. At the end of the room was the translucent face of the clock, where you could see most of the school grounds.

We stood in front of Ozpin's desk where he was currently sitting at with a cup of coffee and with Glynda standing next to him. They apparently were giving us a mission, but I for one did not like the details of it.

"Do we really need to repeat ourselves?" Goodwitch snapped.

"We want you and Miss Schnee to go to the Emerald Forest and defeat a few Grimm who have been getting dangerously close to the academy," Prof. Ozpin explained casually to me. "Normally a mission such as this one would not be available to first years, but since this is near school grounds where you can easily get reinforcements if needed, we have made an exception. However, it must only be the two of you."

"With all due respect," Weiss piped up, taking a step forward, "I do not think that pairing me up with…_her_"—she gestured to me—"is a good idea."

I growled at Weiss.

"If I may ask," Jack interjected, "what is this for?"

"We have noticed how the two of them haven't exactly been getting along," Ozpin informed. "Your teams have strong connections between one another—what, with your sisters being in it and you making it through initiation as a group. You all have formed bonds with one another, and a link such as this would aid both teams in future battles. However, if someone from your team cannot cope with another, then we cannot completely be sure that any of those future plans will go well. That is why we must send Miss Schnee and Miss Cain together, in hopes of them making a compromise with one another."

"There's no way I can actually fight with _her_!" I exclaimed, pointing at Weiss.

"It wouldn't work, no matter how much we try!" Weiss desperately reasoned.

"You will be working together and that's final!" Glynda snapped sternly. "And take note—this will be put into your grade. If you cannot work with one another… _You. Will. Fail_."

"Now, off you go," Professor Ozpin said as he shooed us off.

"But—I—you can't—" Weiss stuttered.

I was in complete shock as well. They were going to grade this?! It was so unfair! I can't work with Weiss of all people! We'd end up killing each other before we kill the Grimm!

Our teams had to drag us out of the room just so we could leave.

Oh, what a fun experience this is going to be.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I have to work with you of all people!"<p>

We had left for our mission immediately. We wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Weiss had been complaining ever since the two of us left, which was thirty minutes ago. Her voice was really getting on my nerves.

"I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your lack of skill I'm—"

"Oh, shut the hell up already, will you?!" I snapped, still walking towards our destination. I wasn't in the best of moods right now, if you couldn't tell. "It's bad enough that I have to do this with you. I don't need you yapping in my ear!"

"How _dare_ you!"

"Oh, I dare, Princess."

"Ugh! You ignorant dolt!"

"Spoiled little rich brat."

"Excuse me?!"

"Not excused."

"Ugh! I swear to God I'm going to—"

"Going to what? Run and tell your mommy?"

"You're such a nuisance!"

"Oh, _boohoo_. Go cry me a river."

And on and on we went. We kept arguing like that for so long that we didn't notice that we arrived at the designated point until we finally looked away from each other. We were at a clearing in the forest where a cave rested at the end farthest from us.

Weiss glared at me with a clear look of _I'm gonna skewer you the first chance I get after this is over_ before scanning the area around us. "Supposedly, a pack of Beowolves were spotted in this area," she said, recalling the details of the report. "They haven't gone this close to the cliff borders before, so the academy is getting worried about them." She raised her nose in the air defiantly. "But I don't see a single monster around here."

"Maybe they all left?" I suggested gingerly. I didn't feel like starting up a conversation with her, but I needed to get a good grade on this.

She scoffed. "I doubt it."

A rustling in the bushes caught our attention. Actually, the rustling came from all around us. We looked around us and saw those multiple pairs of burning red eyes. Out of the bushes came the Beowolves.

"Well, speak of the devil," I muttered.

Weiss sniffed. "Disgusting creatures."

If there was one thing we could agree on that wasn't the knowledge that we were not compatible to each other in any way, it was the fact that we both hated these monsters just as much as the next Huntress.

We readied our weapons, preparing for the inevitable attack that the Beowolves were sure to deliver. The monsters advanced on us.

I jumped up and used the air to propel me into the sky. I saw Weiss using her glyphs to do the same. The Beowolves crashed into each other, making the pack disoriented. Using this opening, I lit my hand alight and threw fireballs at the pack. Most of them dodged in time, but I was able to scorch a few unlucky ones who howled in pain. Weiss sent a series of razor-sharp glyphs at the ones trying to escape. I flipped over the pack and rolled to the ground, quickly turning to them again and unsheathing my sword. A Beowolf was stupid enough to try and attack me one-on-one. It got a sword in the stomach. I kicked the monster off of my blade as it dissolved.

The rest of them were smarter, and they created a half-circle in front of us. As they slowly advanced, we had no choice but to back up. There was no telling what they would do. Before we knew it, we were backed up into the cave. That's when they decided to lunge, attacking us together. I slashed with a series of shadows, and sliced apart one who got close. I kicked another back, and rolled backwards as one tried to claw at me. I pushed a Beowolf away with air, and smacked a second one back with my stun baton.

"We need to get out of this cave!" Weiss said as our options of escape started getting thin as we back up.

"You think?!" I snapped. She scowled at me and sent a series of Glyphs at more Beowolves. But more kept coming out of the forest. I created flames in each hand and shot. However, one large Beowolf smacked them to the side. The flames hit the walls of the cave, and it shook.

Weiss looked worriedly at the cave. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. "Do you want us to get buried alive?"

"How was I supposed to know that they could block the fire?!" I shot back.

Three more large Beowolves leaped out at us. Weiss retaliated with Glyphs, while I lashed out with a stream of shadows. Unfortunately, one Beowolf got through, and was headed straight for me. It barreled onto me, and with a large amount of effort, I threw it off. The monster smacked against the cave wall.

Suddenly, the entire cave started to crumble, and the Beowolf I threw off was buried in rubble. The other Grimm howled, and retreated into the forest. Meanwhile, Weiss and I were trying to escape.

"Look what you did!" she yelled over the roar of the cave.

"I'm sorry!" I shot back sarcastically as I dodged a boulder. "That Beowolf almost ripped my head off and killed me with its ginormous teeth. But by all means, let's talk about how this happened because I personally _don't want to die!_"

She was about to make another quip when a boulder caught her on the shoulder. She crumpled down, and a pile of rocks buried her feet. She cried out. Despite her pain, she created a series of Glyphs above her to prevent getting seriously crushed.

I was just about to help her when I tripped on a rock. I fell down with a curse and was about to leap back up when a falling rock struck my head—hard.

Everything went dark.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>"Cain. <em>Cain<em>. Valkyrie Cain."

I groaned as I tried to push myself up. My back hit cold stone. My eyes shot open. It was dark. I couldn't see a thing. I tried to move my arms, but only managed to slip out my left one. The right was stuck.

_Oh no_.

Desperately, my left hand started feeling the walls around me. I was in a tight space. I was stuck in a small, tight space. I was stuck. In a small, tight space. _A small tight space._

_Fuck_.

My breathing became unsteady. My heart was beating fast. My mind began to panic.

"Cain? Are you there?"

It was Weiss. By the sound of it, she was relatively close. For once, I was relieved to hear Weiss's annoyed tone.

I tried not to sound scared. I failed. "Weiss?" I whimpered. I mentally cursed at myself for sounding weak.

There was a moment of silence, as if she hadn't expected me to sound so frightened. "I'm here, Valkyrie." I could tell that she was trying to sound stern, but I heard the worry in her voice nonetheless. "Are you good?"

I tried to move my right arm again, only for pain to shoot up. I cried out. "Damn," I muttered. Then to Weiss I said, "M-my right arm's stuck." I unintentionally stuttered.

"Right," she said. "I, uh…I tried my best to make sure you weren't crushed by using my Glyphs. Thankfully, the rocks got stuck in place and are wedged together."

I gritted my teeth and tried to put as much menace in my voice, which wasn't very hard, but it was toned down due to the added fear. "You could have done better," I hissed through gritted teeth.

After a pause, Weiss spoke again. "Valkyrie…you're claustrophobic, aren't you?"

I glowered in the dark. "Yeah, I'm claustrophobic. There. I said it. The 'brave' Valkyrie Cain hates tight spaces. Whoop dee fucking doo. Are you happy now?"

Another pause. But this time, when she spoke, her voice was surprisingly gentle. "There's nothing wrong with you being scared. It's very common to be claustrophobic. And being brave doesn't necessarily mean that you're fearless. Only maniacs are fearless. You're not a maniac, are you?"

Despite my situation, I laughed. I honestly didn't believe that Weiss of all people could have made me laugh, but I didn't care. "That remains to be seen," I replied, my voice steadying, if only a little. "But I personally hope that the answer is 'no'."

"See, we're making progress." I could hear the smile in her voice, and in that moment I decided that maybe Weiss wasn't too bad after all. But that may have just been my brain going nuts from the fear.

Despite it all, I still tried to sound tough. "D-don't get too comfortable. I'm only talking to you to get out of the mayhem circulating around my mind."

I could practically hear the roll of her eyes [Yes Leo. I just used that. Deal with it.]. "Hey, you know…" She paused. "If and when we get out of here, you should probably tell your team about your claustrophobia."

I snorted. "Why?"

"Because," she snapped, but a little softer than usual. "They're your teammates. You have to cover up each other's weaknesses. No secrets. No lies."

I felt a twist in my stomach at the secrets part.

"Anyways, do you think you can make a flame?"

I frowned. "I-I'll try. But I think my aura's a bit low. It won't be very bright." It was true. Over the few months that I was training under Goodwitch and Ozpin to earn my spot at the Academy, I learned that since my magic is connected to my very soul, the less aura I have, the less effective my magic becomes. That's the reason why Goodwitch was emphasizing the point of preserving your aura in battle, but for the others' case, it was to help with their semblance.

I calmed myself, clicked my fingers, searched for the spark. A dull glow resonated between my fingertips. I tried again, and this time I managed to generate a fragile flame. It would have to do.

But as soon as I saw how tight the space really was, the fear started to kick in again. The flame in my hand flickered uncertainly.

"Stay calm, Valkyrie."

I looked ahead of me to see Weiss's face through a tiny sliver between the boulders. I could make out a few cuts and bruises, but that was as far as the peep hole allowed me to see. I couldn't gauge the situation real well.

But Weiss didn't seem panicked. Instead, she looked at me with a soft expression in her eyes, and I saw a whole new side of her.

Kind. Supporting. Gentle.

Three words that I thought I would never use for her. But that was what she was like.

"Alright," she began. "Let's see what we can do." She seemed to struggle a bit, and from the crack I saw her bring out her Scroll. It was badly damaged, but it lit up weakly nonetheless. She scowled. "Low signal," she explained. "And the battery's running low. But I should still be able to send a signal. Hopefully." I heard a few beeps, and the familiar sound of a message being sent. "There. I messaged Professor Ozpin and told him our situation. Hopefully, they'll get it and send a rescue team."

I nodded. Then, a squeak was heard. I frowned. "What was that?"

Weiss's frown deepened as she looked ahead of her. Then her eyes widened. "V-Valkyrie," she said cautiously. "Snuff out your flame, and stay completely calm."

I had a bad feeling down in the pit of my stomach. "What? What is it?"

She paused. "Just turn off the flame. Don't worry about it."

Anger flared within me, but only because the panic was starting to resurface. "Weiss, what the _hell_ is it?"

She cursed. I soon found out why. A small rat-like Grimm crawled through the crack to my side. I cursed and threw a tiny flame at it. It was shot back, but I had just lost my source of light. Worst of all, I heard more rats coming. I felt something crawling on me. I screamed, and thrashed about, trying to shake off the Grimm that were scampering all over my body. Weiss cursed again, and I could tell she was also having a hard time. Through the fog in my mind, I was able to remember the name of said Grimm: Hamelin.

A rat went under my jacket and bit me. I shrieked, grabbed at it, and threw it away. But the other rats seemed to get the idea. They bit me, dug into my skin, clawed at me—anything to hurt me really. What's worse is that their teeth is filled with venom. One bite won't kill you, but just enough can and will—but you'll experience a lot of pain first before blacking out.

And that's exactly what I was feeling. Pain. White-hot burning coursing through my body. Darquesse tried to surface. I pushed her back. I had to stay strong. I had to block her and the pain out.

Then I remembered—my weapon. It turns into a knife. My hand scrambled though the ground. I hissed when I felt a Hamelin bite me. I kept searching. My hand brushed against a cool wood. It was my weapon.

Quickly unsheathing it—which was rather difficult considering that I had only one hand in use and I felt needles stabbing me—I retracted the blade into a knife. I slashed at the Grimm, and I heard their squeals of pain. Slowly, I cut them down, one by one. Then, after they stopped coming through the hole, I slipped my weapon to Weiss's side. "Weiss," I croaked. The poison was seeping into my bloodstream. "Use my blade."

I heard a tiny clatter, followed by a few swishes in the air. I sighed because I knew Weiss got the blade. But my vision began to tunnel. Things became darker than it already was. _Huh_, I thought as I began to slip away. _Blacking out twice in a day…This is so stupid. I'm going to die like this._

And the world was silent.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Leo<span>_**

I played around with this tiny drone I was making. I, my team, and the remainder of team RWBY were sitting around a table at the library. Jack's jacket was folded on the table an hour ago, but now he was anxiously fiddling around with it. We were awaiting news from Valkyrie and Weiss's mission. I didn't like how long it was taking.

"Do you think they're okay?" Ruby asked, voicing out the concern that everyone was feeling. The atmosphere was so dreary, even _I_ couldn't bring myself to make a joke about…well, _anything_.

Kellyn sighed. "For the seventeenth time, I'm sure they're fine," he replied. But I was starting to think that even he was beginning to doubt his own words.

Jack frowned. "I'm…I'm actually pretty worried." He had a troubled look in his eyes. "It's already near sunset, and they still haven't come back."

I set my project aside. "Even though they practically hate each other, a couple of Grimm should be easy for them to kill," I agreed. "I wonder what happened…"

Yang looked out the window. "I hope Ice Queen makes it out there alive," she voiced absentmindedly. "She better not die…"

Blake looked up from the book she was reading. "You shouldn't underestimate our teammate and friend," she informed. "They both were granted access into Beacon, after all. They can handle this."

"I guess…" Jack mumbled quietly, still not quite believing it.

I sighed and looked out the window at the orange sky. I was pretty worried myself. They should have been back by now. I found myself absentmindedly tapping my fingers in Morse Code, sending out _Are you okay?_ I wished that they could have gotten that message and replied.

I heard two tiny beeps, and both Jack and Ruby checked their scroll at the same time. Ruby gasped, and Jack's eyes hardened as he stood up, the chair he was sitting on making a loud squeak.

"What is it?" I asked. But I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I knew what it was.

Jack picked up his jacket and hurriedly slipped it on. "It's Weiss and Valkyrie," he explained, and all of us sprang to action, getting ready to leave. Jack left through the doors, and we followed as he walked down the halls and exited the building to come up to Beacon Cliff. "They were caught in a cave-in, and they're hurt. The rescue team's bringing them up now. Look." He pointed out to a tiny rescue ship flying towards us.

I raised my arm against the wind as the ship landed. The doors burst open, and a group wheeled in two stretchers. We sprinted forward to get a better look. One held Weiss, who was awake and trying to swat away the medical teams. The other had Valkyrie. She was unconscious with an oxygen mask strapped to her face.

My stomach lurched and I came to a halt, staring at my teammate. Jack and Kellyn rushed forward and ran alongside the stretcher. I finally found strength in my muscles to follow as they passed by. I listened in on the conversation Kellyn was having with the medics.

"What happened?" My partner asked.

"Hamelin," one of them answered. The three of us paled. "They seemed to have bitten her more than her friend. She got the worst of the poison. She blacked out from the pain."

"Will she be okay?" I questioned.

"Of course she will," Jack answered for them, not taking his eyes off his partner. "This is Valkyrie we're talking about. She'll be fine."

I believed him, but I couldn't help but wonder how someone as strong as Valkyrie could be reduced to…this.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p>We gathered around Weiss's bedside, much to the heiress's displeasure. Even Jack was there, and trust me, he had refused to leave his partner's side for the last two hours. I was only able to convince him to come because he was tempted to learn what exactly happened, and because of the fact that the nurses assured him that with a little more hours of rest, Valkyrie would be back in action. I felt a little uncomfortable in the clean white rooms, but I guesss it couldn't be helped.<p>

"Well, Ice Queen, spill!" Yang exclaimed, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Yeah!" Ruby added leaning in from her spot at the chair beside Weiss. "What happened on the mission?"

Blake stayed silent as usual as she sat on the foot of the bed, but I could tell she wanted to hear just as much as the rest of us did.

Ice Queen sighed. "We were heading to the given area," she began. "Valkyrie and I were arguing most of the way, but I guess you all expected that, didn't you?"

"I bet ten lien on it earlier," I admitted with a shrug.

She scowled at me. "Anyways, a pack of Beowolves jumped out at us, and we defended ourselves. But we got pushed back into the cave, where it started to collapse after Valkyrie knocked one of the Beowolves onto the wall. And no Jack"—she raised a finger at Jack, who opened his mouth to protest—"I am not trying to pin this on her. It was a mere accident."

Kellyn raised an eyebrow, and I scoffed. "Weiss saying that what Valkyrie did was an accident? It must be Armageddon!" I gasped in faked horror.

Weiss growled. "I'm trying to be serious here, you jerk!" she berated. "Now do you want to hear what happened next or what?"

Jack elbowed me in the ribs, and I doubled over. He was pretty strong for someone younger than me. Either that or I was still too weak. "Continue, Weiss," he urged. _Jeez, for someone who acts like a five year old sometimes, he could sure be serious._

She sighed. "She was unconscious for a while, but when she woke up, she started panicking."

"'Panicking'?" Ruby asked.

Weiss hesitated, before nodding. She turned to me, Jack, and Kellyn. "Did you guys have any idea that she has claustrophobia?"

That was new to me.

"Really?" questioned Jack. Apparently, Valkyrie didn't even tell her own partner. I was beginning to wonder what other secrets Valkyrie was holding. But I bit my tongue, because I knew exactly what that was like. No witty comments. I had to hold that back.

Weiss nodded. "I-it was like she was a different person." She looked at the wall in front of her with a faraway gaze. It was the first time I had ever seen Weiss like that. "She sounded so scared, so…vulnerable." She frowned, and shook herself out of the mini trance. "The Hamelin must have sensed her negative emotions, because they started to flow in after that. They seemed more focused on Valkyrie than they were on me. She was able to stab them and then pass me her blade but…by that time the poison was already seeping through."

Weiss reached over behind Ruby, and grabbed a black wooden stick that sat at her bedside table. It took me a moment to realize that it was Valkyrie's weapon. She shoved it into my hands. "Here," she said. "When Valkyrie wakes up, gives this back to her. Tell her—" She hesitated, as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. "…Tell her that I'm grateful for her help."

I was so surprised by Weiss's attitude to the mention of my teammate that I couldn't even make a witty comment about it.

* * *

><p>oOo<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN First and foremost…HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO JVLN! Said team is currently not here with me at the moment, for they are celebrating themselves. Anyways, I want to thank you all who have favorite and followed, and stayed with me throughout the story! I know I have been extremely slow updates, but you guys are always there to support me! I can't even begin to tell you how much this story means to me, and how much you all hold a place in my heart for sharing this journey with me! JVLN has basically ran my life ever since I first created this crossover team. I had thought at first "Hmm, I want to make an epic team, with personalities that clash!" And here it is. I spend every day thinking of mini scenarios that involve this team, and I love them with my heart. I will continue to rewrite this story to make it better, but I will also continue on its chapters so you don't have to wait (well, weait longer than you already do XD)! As soon as I'm done rewriting this story, I will make it known, so you can read the new and improved version! I swear, JVLN will be better than ever!**

**Now to the chapter at hand. I'll just say, I had a hard time writing this. I was stuck multiple times on what to do. But, I figured it out. Not sure what I think. Please leave a review so I know what ****_you _****guys think about this chapter. I think I had too much time skips XD Also, I put it at Leo's POV at the last part because I realized that I only did one chapter with him. I wanted to give him more love 3 By the way, I finally read the entire series of Heroes of Olympus, and now I'm reading ****_Skulduggery Pleasant: Dying of the Light_**** after so long of waiting to get it! But, when I revise JVLN, I'm gonna leave it at a time after ****_Last Stand of the Dead Men_****, so I don't have to make MAJOR revisions.**

**All that aside, I think I should tell you ahead of time that I am making another crossover team! No, it does not have OCs involved, unfortunately. However, it is a parallel story to JVLN. It's like this: Team JVLN is basically my RWBY. The new crossover team is basically my JNPR. I'm going to make a separate story with the new team that follows the timeline of JVLN with the two of them merging together once and a while, but other than that, it will focus mainly on them. Vice versa with JVLN. The new team will appear in the JVLN story, but it will focus mainly on JVLN. Also, I am making an OC team for the new crossovers, so all the more reason for you guys to start getting creative and submitting more characters! Villains and heroes alike are welcome!**


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